Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries - the original books were written by L J Smith and the TV show was developed by Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson. This story is the product of their characters and world and my imagination. Any recognisable lines (verbatim or amended) from Vampire Diaries episodes belong to the writers, not me.

Caroline

Caroline woke late on the morning of her eighteenth birthday, a feeling of despair hanging over her.

She would never be eighteen, not properly. She would forever be stuck at seventeen, usually overlooked and undervalued by a society that wouldn't consider her an adult.

She missed her parents. She remembered the plans they had made for this special birthday, and her father's promise not to take any work trips at all during her birthday week.

For the last few weeks, she hadn't thought of them as much as before, distracted by the books in the library and training and her confused feelings about Klaus.

Now, though, her mind was replaying countless family memories. On one hand, it was nice to remember good times with her parents. On the other, it was just a reminder that she didn't have them anymore, that she would never get to see them again.

She picked up a photograph from the side table, stroking the faces immortalised there. It had been left on her bed two weeks after she was turned and, although he never said anything, she assumed it was Klaus who had found it for her. She'd sensed he didn't want to be thanked in any way, but she'd spent the next week smiling, trying to show him that she was grateful for the small kindness of allowing her to have a picture of herself with her parents.

After a few minutes, Caroline sighed and put the photograph back on the table. It was a wonderful gift to have it, but looking for too long tended to make her melancholy.

As she moved to get dressed, she noticed there were two boxes on the dressing table.

They definitely hadn't been there the night before, but she didn't remember waking to any noises in the night. Klaus had clearly snuck in and she scowled, making a mental note to shout at him later for being creepy and refusing to respect boundaries.

Still, the boxes were interesting enough that even her annoyance with Klaus couldn't stop her from being curious about their contents.

She opened the larger one first and found a red dress inside, perfect for a night of dancing. It was exactly the sort of thing she would have chosen for herself and a little part of her hated Klaus for having such good taste.

The second box was much smaller, and she gasped when she opened it. There, nestled inside the box, was a ring. Remembering one of the books from Klaus' library, she recognised the stone as Lapis Lazuli – it was a daylight ring, something that would allow her to walk freely in the sun!

Caroline put the ring on immediately and moved so fast as she left her bedroom that she nearly hit the wall. There were no windows in her room and so she hurried to find a room that had some.

She practically fell into the library in her haste, hurrying over to the window and pulling aside the dark, heavy curtains so that she could feel the sun on her face.

It felt so good, even as she had to give herself a few seconds to adjust to the fact that she was experiencing natural light for the first time in so long.

She sighed contentedly, only turning around when she heard Klaus' low, rumbling laughter.

He was sat in the corner, reading Candide by Voltaire (in the original French, naturally).

"Thank you," she told him sincerely.

He tipped his head in acknowledgement, "I thought we might go out this evening, a proper celebration."

Caroline suddenly felt nervous, unsure, "you … you really think I can?"

She wanted desperately to be able to venture outside, but she was terrified she might hurt someone.

"You have excellent control for a baby vampire," he said, "but we have to test it at some point. You wouldn't want to stay in this house forever, would you?"

She shook her head, "and you won't … you won't let me hurt anyone."

He sighed and she knew he considered her reluctance to permanently injure anyone she drank from to be ridiculous. He had been accommodating so far, though, despite his own feelings.

"I promise not to let you do anything you don't want to, Caroline."

There was a loophole there and they both knew it. She held Klaus' gaze for a few moments and then she nodded slowly.

"We'll leave at nine," he confirmed, "are you happy with the dress."

"It … it's perfect," she admitted, unable to stop her mouth from stretching into a shy smile.

"I'm sure you'll look wonderful," he said, and the heat in his gaze made her feel warm all over.

"I'll … I'll see you later," she stuttered out, unable to handle the intensity of his stare for much longer without doing something very stupid.

He smirked and lifted one hand to wave, before turning his attention back to his book.

Caroline fled, mentally compiling a list of one hundred reasons she absolutely should not find an insanely dangerous Original vampire ridiculously attractive.

Caroline was relieved to find that when she came downstairs in her new red dress, hair and face fully made up with products that had appeared in the bathroom earlier that day, there was absolutely no sign of Stefan.

Klaus, looking deliciously dapper in his suit, offered her his arm.

"You look stunning, sweetheart," his eyes roved up and down and Caroline felt a sudden urge to press herself close to him.

"Thank you," she murmured, "and you look …"

She trailed off, unwilling to say out loud how good he looked. He seemed to understand, though, if his smug expression was anything to go by.

Their destination – the city's most popular speakeasy – wasn't far away and they were allowed entry as soon as the man at the door saw Klaus.

It was clear that he was a well-known figure at the establishment. It was also obvious that anyone with sense kept at a distance until he approached them. Her heightened senses caught the constant scent of fear and nervousness from many of the patrons when they noticed him, mixed in with a healthy dose of arousal. Something about the latter scent irritated Caroline, made her shift just a little closer to Klaus, much to his amusement.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as they took a seat in one of the back booths, "is the thirst manageable?"

The burning in the back of her throat was ever-present, as was to be expected with a baby vampire, but she had fed recently and she felt in control. It might get worse as the evening wore on, considering she hadn't ever tested her control in such a crowded room, but for the moment she was feeling alright.

She explained all of this to Klaus, who seemed pleased. He slung an arm over her shoulders and she tried very hard not to react as his fingers grazed her bare shoulder.

A round of drinks appeared, then another. Klaus had the bourbon she'd noticed he favoured, and she got two different cocktails that tasted sweet and fruity. A little while later, after a conversation about Italian villas that made Caroline yearn to travel abroad, a bottle of expensive champagne appeared.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" she asked, trying to be serious but a little too relaxed by the alcohol to manage it.

"Of course not, sweetheart. I just want you to have the full experience."

"So," she said with a grin, "you'll dance with me then, won't you?"

He stood immediately and offered her his hand. She took it, slightly shocked that he had so readily agreed.

They made their way to the dancefloor, where Klaus immediately began to lead her in the quick steps of an fast-paced song the band were playing.

"You know," he said after a few minutes, "you're quite the dancer."

"Well … I've had training," she explained, thinking of the lessons her parents had paid for from the time she was eight years old.

She'd forgotten how much she loved dancing.

For ten minutes or so she just allowed herself to enjoy the experience, the challenge of keeping up with Klaus as the steps become more and more complicated a perfect way to ignore any rising bloodlust she might feel.

Still, she couldn't stop herself from wondering why. Why her?

"Why am I here, Klaus?" she asked him, "why didn't you send me away when you were sure I could control myself, or even just kill me?"

He only shrugged slightly, "I fancy you."

She looked at him sharply, disbelieving. He was a thousand years old and Caroline was … well, she was so small compared to him. He had called her beautiful, had drawn the lines of her face in careful detail across the pages of his sketchbook, but it still baffled her to think that he might find her interesting.

"Is that so hard to believe?" he asked her.

"Yes," she replied shortly.

"Why? You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light. I enjoy you."

She tried not to gape at him. No one had ever described her like that. Most of the compliments she had received in her life had been superficial, or flattery from some over-eager boy who said she was pretty but thought she had fluff for brains.

"You … you don't know me, Klaus, not really."

She'd rarely let anyone get close, had never wanted to risk being hurt or rejected.

"I know more than you think. Talk to me," he sent her a teasing smile that she couldn't help but reciprocate, "come on. I dare you."

"Fine," she said with an amused roll of her eyes, "so, what do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about you."

She scoffed, because no one ever wanted to talk about her. To her, over her, like she wasn't in the room, but only her mother (and, on rare occasions, her father) had ever shown interest in the real Caroline.

"Really," he continued, "your hopes, your dreams. Everything you want in life."

Caroline laughed, "just to be clear, I'm too smart to be seduced by you."

She wondered if he could see through her, if he realised she'd been half-seduced already, by this dangerous creature who looked at her like she was precious and spoke to her like she mattered.

"Well, that's why I like you," was all he said in reply.

He was being sincere. He might be a cipher at times, but Caroline could read his honesty right now. He truly cared what she had to say.

God, she had the sudden urge to lean forward and press her lips to his.

Instead, she let him twirl her around the dance floor and told him all about the one-woman production of Romeo and Juliet she had put on for an audience of three (her parents and her grandmother) in her dining room when she was eleven.

Little pieces of herself, given over to him.

In a twist of fate that few people would have seen coming, baby vampire Caroline Forbes actually trusted Original Klaus Mikaelson.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

The next chapter should hopefully be up at some point in the next few days.