Chapter Twenty-One: Pop Goes the Weasel

Elena could feel Damon's breathing besides her. She was lying down next to him on the bed, sleeping in expensive Italian sheets. The sex had been good, even though it had been less spontaneous than the first time, but then again Elena was now heavily pregnant.

Elena sighed, feeling the guilt rise in her chest. Damon trusted her. Damon, playboy, Devil may care Damon actually trusted her. He had confessed to her that he had once been a drug addict and that rich Mommy had broken him out.

This was just the kind of news that Ms. Stein wanted. Damon still didn't know that she had accepted the job for Ms. Stein so maybe Damon wouldn't know that she had been the one that had told the newspaper that Damon had been a drug attic.

It will ruin his career, a little voice said inside Elena, he will become a social pariah. He will hate you forever.

But, another nasty little voice said, it could be your chance to succeed. You could be working for The New Yorker. That is your dream remember.

Elena grabbed her phone and headed towards the kitchen. The clock in the oven said that it was almost midnight. Perhaps Ms. Stein was not even in her office. She dialed the number and a sharp, impatient voice answered. "Hello?"

"Um, Ms. Stein?" Elena said in a small, voice. "It's Elena. Elena Gilbert."

Ms. Stein's voice softened. "Hello, Elena we haven't heard from you in a while. Do you have any news concerning our playboy millionaire?"

Elena bit her lip and fiddled with her hair. "Elena," Ms. Stein's voice was impatient. Do you have anything or not?"

"Yes," Elena said. "I have something, but Ms. Stein I don't want my name on the article. Can I write it under a fake name or under anonymous?"

Ms. Stein nodded impatiently. "Whatever, just tell me, what happened?"

Elena took a deep breath. "This is it."

"I brought dinner," Klaus said as Caroline opened the door. He was carrying boxes filled of Chinese food. Klaus had offered to cook something nice for Caroline, but Caroline had insisted for Chinese food. So Klaus had gone to his local Chinese store for whatever Caroline wanted which mostly consisted of fried rice, chow mein, and orange chicken.

"Yum," Caroline said as she took the boxes away from him. "Come inside. I would offer you wine, but I threw it out. Too much temptation, but I have ice tea and fruit juice."

Klaus smiled as he watched Caroline unpack the Chinese food, while munching on an egg roll. Her blond hair was up in a messy ponytail and she was wearing her old high school sweatshirt. She picked up a few plates.

Caroline seemed to have gotten over her hysteria and shock that she was pregnant with twin boys and had instead focus on her nonstop cravings and bothering Klaus if he wanted to go the traditional baby blue route for the nursery. Caroline started putting Chinese food on Klaus' plate. "So remember I told you about the Anderson's Sweet Sixteen party? Well, they called me back and they hired me to do their event. Although they want some weird under the sea meets Winter Wonderland theme. Oh, a fortune cookie."

Caroline always ate the fortune cookie first before eating the meal, Klaus knew this. She opened the cookie in half and instead of a paper fortune she saw a glistering diamond ring. "What?" she looked up Klaus who was slightly grinning. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The realization suddenly hit her and she wondered how she could have been so stupid and not noticed in the first place. Klaus was proposing. With an actual ring in a fortune cookie and everything. In her dreams Caroline had expected to be swept off her feet while wearing a red dress and she and her future fiancé were in a nice restaurant. Instead Caroline hadn't washed her hair in three days and she was wearing ugly sweatpants. "You, um wow," Caroline stammered. "You're proposing to me."

Klaus nodded. "I'm proposing to you," he gave a nervous chuckle. "This is when you usually response, yes or no?"

Caroline looked at him. "Did your mom, put you up to this?"

"What does my mother have anything to do with this?"

Caroline could feel her cheeks heat up. "Nothing." She fiddled with her ring. "Can I think about it?"

There was an awkward pause that Klaus finally broke. "Of course. Take your time."

Caroline nodded as she pushed the ring towards him, but Klaus shook his head. "Keep it. If you say no then you can return it back to me, if you say yes, then you can start wearing it."

Caroline gave him a small smile as she slipped the ring into one of the drawers. She started serving food back into the plates. "We should eat." Caroline felt a funny movement in her belly, at first she ignored it, but then she felt it again. "Oaf."

Klaus looked up alarmed. "What is it? Are you hurt, does anything hurt?"

"No," Caroline said in a shaky voice. "I think they are kicking." She let out a small laugh. "Oh my god, Klaus they are kicking. Look, touch."

Klaus reached over and touched her belly. A second later one of the twins kicked again and a smile spread on his face. "They are kicking. Oh there it is again."

"They're strong." Caroline winced. Suddenly her belly felt too small for her growing twins.

"Just like their mother," Klaus said softly as he kissed the side of her forehead.

Katherine opened her eyes and saw that she was lying down in someone's living room couch. A living room couch that was not her own and covered in someone's woolly, blue blanket. She sat up with a start and then she recognized her law textbook.

"Easy," Elijah said as he came in carrying a tray of coffee. He was wearing a blue sweater vest. "It's just me, you're in my apartment."

Elijah had offered to let Katherine cram for her midterms in his apartment and Katherine had fallen asleep. Katherine felt her cheeks grow pink. "I'm sorry, I forgot." Elijah didn't say anything as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"Thank you." She said. "For letting me stay here. You didn't have to."

"Nonsense." Elijah said. "I enjoyed the company. You're good company, Katherine.

Katherine could feel her heart beating inside her chest. For some reason she couldn't stop staring at Elijah's lips. Maybe it was the baby hormone making her crazy. Taking a chance and forgetting her coffee, she leaned over and kissed him.

-End of Chapter Twenty-One-

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