Hi guys and gals! Thank you sooooo much for reading, reviewing, and favoriting (- why is that not a word?! Lol) this story! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. If so, please let me know in the reviews! :)

HAPPY TVD DAY! Not having The Originals this week kind of stunk though :( Anywhooo, back to the story! Thank you again and Happy Reading…

Disclaimer: I do not own TVD, The Originals, or any of their characters…

A little while later Caroline came down the stairs holding a suitcase in her hands. She walked into the living room to find Elena sitting on the couch waiting for her. When Elena turned towards the blonde after she entered the room, her eyes went directly to the suitcase, and she smiled.

"I'm ready." Caroline stated.

Elena jumped up from her seat. "If I had to guess, I would say that you wanted me to take you home?"

Caroline's smile matched her best friend's as she nodded. "Take me home." Mentally, home was still with her mom. However, in her heart she knew that wasn't where she belonged.

Elena hugged Caroline before the two made their way to Elena's vehicle. Caroline was too focused on the route to the house to carry a conversation as they drove.

"Why did you need me to take you?" Elena asked, breaking the silence.

Caroline tore her gaze from the street. "I haven't been there yet, so I don't even know how to get there."

Elena's eyebrows shot up. "Really? I figured Klaus would have taken you to see it by now."

Caroline shook her head. "He was waiting for me to ask him to take me, and I had never thought about it."

"Oh," Elena replied, seeming satisfied with the explanation.

When Caroline realized that the conversation was over, she turned her gaze back to the window. She was getting anxious. She was ready to be there.

Elena pulled up to the house about five minutes later. Caroline noticed that it was on the outskirts of town, away from other houses. When she stepped out of the car, she was amazed at the building in front of her. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either. It was a little larger than a regular sized home from what she could tell from the outside. The house was a pale yellow with white shutters and a white front door. It was two stories tall with pillars in the front that made it seem similar to a plantation style home. There was a large porch that wrapped around the entire house with a few seats that made it possible to sit outside and look at the tree filled scenery around the place. Caroline was in awe.

"Do you like it?" Elena asked when she realized that Caroline wasn't moving from her spot beside the car.

Caroline nodded. "I love it."

"Good, because Klaus had it built exactly how you wanted it." Elena grabbed Caroline's bag out of the trunk and started making her way to the house. When she got to the front door, she realized they might have a problem. "Hey, Care," she turned back to the blonde, who was now halfway to the door. "Do you by any chance have a key?"

"Oh, crap. I don't." Caroline hadn't even thought about needing a key.

Elena thought for a minute before holding up her finger. "Hang on. There used to be a spare key around here somewhere." She began looking under the mat, feeling above the door, but she couldn't find it.

Caroline helped her look under and around everything on the porch. Eventually, she saw a small flower pot set off to the side. It was filled with colorful flowers, and she was immediately drawn to it. She lifted up the pot and right underneath was a key. She held it up. "I think I found it."

When the two entered the house, Caroline was amazed all over again. The floors were dark wood, and the furniture all wooden pieces. She noticed that the walls were light colored. The decorations that hung on the walls were elegant, as well as the few decorations that were placed in the hutches and small tables around the rooms. Caroline could see her own touches everywhere she looked. As she continued to walk around, she realized that quite a few unfinished paintings were lying around the living room. They looked really out of place.

"I guess Klaus has been working from home," Elena commented when she saw what Caroline was focused on.

"These are Nik's?" Caroline asked, shocked.

Elena nodded. "That's what he does. He paints. Most of the artwork in this house are his."

Caroline connected the dots in that moment. She never understood that she was going to his art studio when she had been in an accident. She had never bothered to be that specific when asking questions. However, she did remember him saying that he didn't stay at home very often anymore, which started to worry her.

"Elena, do you have Rebekah's number?" She quickly asked.

Elena pulled her phone from her pocket. "Yeah, hang on." She scrolled through the numbers on her phone until she landed on Rebekah's name. After she hit the call button, she handed the phone to Caroline.

"Hello?" The younger Mikaelson answered.

"Rebekah, it's Caroline. I need you to do me a favor."

"Ok. I'm listening." Rebekah replied.

"Don't tell Nik that I have anything to do with this, but I need you to get him to go home, our home, tonight." Caroline grew excited all over again.

"That may be difficult to do, Caroline."

"Just please try!" Caroline waited for Rebekah to agree before hanging up the phone.

As Caroline walked around the house taking in every detail, Elena felt like she was just in the way. "I think I'm going to head out, Care."

Caroline turned to her best friend. "You don't have to go."

"I think you need some time alone. Besides, I shouldn't be here when Klaus gets home. It should be just you two." The brunette hugged her friend once again.

"Thank you for driving me here, Lena."

When Elena left, Caroline let herself get lost in the decorations. She rubbed her hand across the smooth wooden surfaces, she observed the delicate work in the trinkets, and she took in every detail she could from Klaus' paintings that were scattered on the walls. It wasn't until she noticed the pictures of the two of them, their friends, and their family that she really became emotional. She picked up the picture frame that held the two of them at their wedding. She had seen the picture before, but it felt different now that her feelings for him had grown and she was in their home. Next, she picked up one that looked to be a Christmas photograph. It was her and Klaus with all of their friends and family. She couldn't help but notice how happy she looked in every picture she picked up, and that made her lose the battle with her tears. They began to fall before she could stop them.

After Caroline finished the tour of the house, she decided that she would try to make dinner. She had never really been a good cook, but she thought it would be nice to have something ready to eat when Klaus got home.

She went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. As she began to search for something to make, she realized that most of the food was out of date. She sighed. She didn't have a car to drive to the store, so she was going to have to find something. She started opening cabinets, but there weren't many options there either. Last, she searched the pantry. In the pantry, she found spaghetti noodles and pasta sauce, which quickly became her ingredients. She figured it wouldn't be too hard to boil noodles, so she quickly put a pot of salty water on the stove top to boil while she waited for Klaus to come in.

She was just about to turn the stove off when she heard the front door open. She smiled to herself before she turned the dial, cutting off the heat, and made her way to the living room entry way. Klaus had his back to her, and from what she could see, he was picking up his unfinished paintings. He had no idea she was there.

"Hey," she quietly stated.

Klaus spun around, his eyes wide. "Caroline?"

Caroline smiled again. She walked over to him so she was close enough to touch him if she reached out. "I'm glad you came."

"What are you doing here?" His eyes were still wide with shock.

She shrugged. "I asked Elena to bring me home."

"Does that mean…" His voice trailed off before he could finish his question.

Caroline motioned towards her suitcase that was sitting in the corner. His gaze followed the direction before a smile broke onto his face as well. Then, as if uncontrollable, a laugh burst out from between his lips. Caroline's smile grew when she heard the happiness in his tone. Before she could do anything else, Klaus swept her up into his arms as he held her close to his chest, squeezing her in a hug. Caroline laughed at his reaction, surprised, but happy to be in his arms.

"Did Rebekah know you were here?" Klaus asked when he let her go.

Caroline nodded. "I told her to make you come home."

Klaus shook his head but the smile was still on his lips. "You could have just asked me to come get you. I would have."

"I know, but it was kind of a spur of the moment decision. And I liked surprising you."

"Well, I'm glad you did." He looked around the house as if he hadn't seen it in a while himself. "What did you do here while you were alone?"

"I just looked around." Caroline remembered the pasta on the stove. "Oh, and I cooked dinner!" She hurried into the kitchen.

Klaus followed behind her at a slower pace. "You cooked?"

Caroline was opening the overhead cabinets as she answered. "I might not be the best cook in the world, but I can make pasta."

"What are you looking for, love?" Klaus asked when she continued to open and close all of the cabinets above her head.

She turned towards him. "The strainer?"

He walked over to one of the cabinets by her feet, opened it, and grabbed out the strainer. He handed it to her and they exchanged another smile.

He sat back and watched her as she strained the pasta, then began to mix in the pasta sauce. He never thought he would be so happy to see Caroline in their kitchen. He almost laughed at the thought because she couldn't cook, so generally he would take over. However, today, he would eat whatever she made. He was overwhelmed with the feeling of joy he had that she was back in their home. There were no words that could describe what he was feeling.

"Almost done," Caroline said as she continued to stir in the sauce.

Klaus pushed himself off the wall that he had been leaning against. "I'll get the plates."

They sat down to eat minutes later. Klaus couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu at the scene in front of him. He didn't know if he would ever see Caroline sitting at their dinner table ever again, but there she was. He looked down at the plate of noodles in front of him, thinking that this might be the best meal he would ever eat, not because of the taste but because of the moment.

When Caroline saw him staring at his food, she began to panic. "What's wrong?" He hadn't even tasted it yet. She wondered if she was really that bad of a cook.

He shook his head. "Nothing, love. I was just thinking."

"About what?" She questioned before taking a bite of her spaghetti.

"How happy I am right now." He smiled and held his hand out to her. She placed her hand in his.

"I am too," she agreed. He squeezed her hand in acknowledgement, and then let go.

He took a bite of his spaghetti, surprised at how edible it actually was. The first thing he had ever tasted that Caroline cooked was some type of chicken casserole and it had the worst taste he could ever imagine. "Did you learn to cook while you were away, sweetheart?" He teased.

She shook her head. "I can boil water, you know!" She tried to sound offended, but she couldn't hide the smile on her lips. "Do you like it?"

"It's very good," he replied before taking another bite.

Throughout the rest of dinner they made small talk. Klaus told Caroline a little more about the house, about some of their funniest moments there, and about some of the traditions that they decided to start for their family. Caroline loved hearing him talk about them. She could practically hear the love in his voice.

After dinner, they made their way to the couch to watch television. However, before they could sit down, Klaus had to move all of his artwork to a different place. When he came to join her, Caroline decided to ask him about his art.

"Why didn't you tell me that you painted? I never realized that you meant an art studio." She was sitting on the couch, but her body was aimed towards him.

"I didn't think it was that important," he shrugged.

"Not important? Nik, it's what you love to do. Of course it's important!"

"I haven't really painted much lately." He told her. She could hear the implied since the accident.

She didn't want to bring up the accident because she didn't want to put a damper on the conversation, so she tried to talk around it. "Why are your paintings here instead of in your studio?"

He sighed and looked down, not wanting to look her in the eyes. "I can't really go back there."

"What? Why not?"

"Do you really have to ask that?" He asked, incredulously.

She remembered that was where she was going when she was in her accident. So much for not bringing it up she thought to herself. "Nik…" She waited for him to look at her, but he wouldn't. She scooted closer to him so they were touching. "Nik," she said again, but this time she put her hand on his cheek. He let her hand guide his head so he was now meeting her gaze. "My accident should not be keeping you from painting. Like I said before, it was not your fault that this happened. You need to go back to your studio. Besides, it's alright now. I'm here. With you."

His eyes were lost in her blue ones. He couldn't even speak because he was too caught up in her being in their home. He had barely heard what she said to be honest.

Caroline's breath caught in her throat when she realized how close they were to each other. Her eyes were caught up in his, and her heart began to race. She saw his eyes shift to her lips. The last time they had a moment like this, he pulled away. She didn't want that to happen again. All the determination she had for getting him to go back in his studio disappeared. That didn't matter in this moment. She could practically see the wheels turning in his mind about whether or not to kiss her or pull away again. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. "Please kiss me," she whispered.

His blue-green eyes met hers again. He wanted to make sure that there was no doubt in her mind that this was what she wanted, and all he could see in her expression was confidence. He gently placed his hand on the side of her neck, his thumb grazing her jawline as it swept back and forth on her skin. He pulled her closer to him, and slowly leaned in until his lips met hers. His heart nearly exploded with joy as their lips moved together in perfect synchronization like they had never been apart.