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.

Klaus

As they walked back to his house, Klaus couldn't keep his eyes off Caroline.

She wasn't drunk, not even tipsy. It took a significant amount of alcohol to affect a vampire, after all. She seemed lighter, though, more open than she had been for most of the time they had known each other.

He wanted to kiss her, wanted to run his hands over her body, wanted to have her in his bed and hear what sounds he could coax out of her.

Klaus wanted everything from his little baby vampire.

"Come on," she said, clinging to his arm, "tell me more about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. I can't believe you were actually there!"

He laughed, "it wasn't nearly as glamourous as you think, Caroline. The palaces stank, there were rats everywhere and hygiene was almost non-existent."

"It must have been so interesting, though," she sighed, "the court intrigue, the royal scandals, the fashions, the jewellery. We've never had anything like it here."

Klaus reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box, handing it to an curious Caroline.

"Speaking of jewellery, I meant to give this to you earlier, a birthday present of sorts."

"But … the dress, the daylight ring."

"Trinkets, really. This bracelet is special, unique … like you, Caroline."

He'd said similar words a thousand times before to a thousand different women. The difference was that he actually meant them this time. She wasn't something to pass the time, a passing fancy to discard in a month or a year. Klaus wanted to keep Caroline Forbes forever.

She opened the box, gasping at the sparkling bracelet inside.

He plucked it out, fastening it carefully around her wrist, letting his fingers brush her skin.

"It's beautiful," Caroline murmured, giving him a soft smile.

"Yes, Anne Boleyn thought so too. It was a great favourite of hers, commissioned especially for her by Henry Percy, the future 6th Earl of Northumberland, who was her betrothed for a time."

"This belonged to Anne Boleyn?" Caroline gaped at him, "you're teasing me, surely?"

"It's quite true," he assured her, "I managed to, err, liberate it from among her possessions after she was arrested."

"Anne Boleyn married the King, though. I've never heard of Henry Percy."

"Yes, they were forced apart. Henry VIII wished to marry her, while Henry Percy's father forced him into an unhappy marriage with another lady, Mary Talbot. I believe Anne Boleyn felt something for the King, but Henry Percy was her first, and probably truest, love."

"That's romantic, but so sad too."

"She was a remarkable woman. All Henry VIII's queens were, in their own way."

"I can't believe you'd give me this," Caroline looked down at the bracelet in disbelief.

"Why not?"

"This belonged to a Queen of England!" she exclaimed, "I'm just an ordinary girl."

He shook his head, "you don't see yourself clearly, Caroline."

"I …" she stuttered slightly, gaze darting between him and the bracelet, "no one has ever talked about me the way you do."

Klaus said nothing, but he reached out, grasping her hand and letting their fingers entwine together. She smiled softly at him and didn't pull away.

For the most part, his romantic encounters over the centuries had been lust-induced things. But with Caroline he found he wanted to be soft, at least sometimes.

They walked for another ten minutes and he entertained Caroline with a few more little tales from his long life.

Nothing too gory, but he still wove a little thread of blood and violence throughout the stories. He was loath to make Caroline fear him, but he didn't want her to end up with mistaken impressions – he was capable of terrifying violence, manipulation and retribution and he wouldn't change.

The supernatural world was not a kind one and Klaus would not allow himself and his family to be unseated from their position of power. While Rebekah and Kol were daggered, and Elijah across the ocean, he still watched out for their interests.

Always and forever meant something.

They were nearly back to the house when Klaus heard noises from a nearby alleyway.

Caroline clearly noticed too. Her brow furrowed as she realised exactly what she was hearing.

She flashed away immediately, moving towards the alleyway. He knew he'd have to talk to her about hiding her vampiric abilities when she was in public, but it was dark and quiet enough that he was satisfied no one would have seen them.

"Please," he heard a woman beg, "stop, please."

He barely had to give the alleyway a glance to understand the situation. A drunk, vicious man looming over terrified woman with a torn dress. It was the same sort of scene that played out in alleys and darkened streets across America every night.

It was a distasteful scene for Klaus, though he had seen (and done) far too much to be moved by it. Still, despite the many sins he had committed, rape had never been something he was guilty of – sex, he thought, was always far better when the other person was an enthusiastic participant, and he had never had any problem finding a companion.

Caroline was on the man in an instant, pulling him away from his victim. Misjudging her strength in her anger she ended up tossing him clear across the alleyway, where he hit a brick wall with a sickening thud.

She looked momentarily distraught, even though Klaus thought the man hardly deserved her worry.

He cradled her in his arms and tried to calm her, knowing that a baby vampire worked up into a frenzy was never a good idea, "listen, sweetheart, you can still hear his heart. He's only unconscious, though I imagine he's got a few broken bones."

She stilled in his arms, listening and hearing the faint pulse that he had noticed. She went slack, the tension draining out of her.

The woman Caroline had saved was looking at them both with wide eyes and Klaus could sense her heartbeat increasing as her panic rose. He let Caroline go and forced the other woman to meet his eyes.

"Be still and quiet," he ordered, letting the power of compulsion enforce his words.

"What would you like to do?" he asked Caroline.

He would assist his baby vampire in whatever way she wished, but it had to be her choice. It would be good for her to have to make these decisions and see them through. Besides, he didn't want to break his promise to her – if she was going to hurt someone then he would make sure it was a choice she had fully thought through rather than an attack driven by instinct and bloodlust.

"I …" Caroline looked back and forth between the trembling woman and her unconscious attacker.

"Whatever you want," Klaus told her, "take your time, sweetheart."

He had a feeling what decision she would make, but he was content to wait. There was a time and place for pushing, but this was not one such moment.

Caroline paced back and forth for almost five minutes, while Klaus kept an eye on the man lying on the alleyway floor to ensure he didn't start to wake up.

When Caroline marched over to the woman, who was still standing stock still and silent, with a determined look on her face, Klaus knew she had made her decision.

It would be his baby vampire's first attempt at compulsion. He had explained the process to her, but she hadn't yet been able to test it out since it was her first time out of the house.

"You tripped and fell and ripped your dress," Caroline maintained eye contact with the woman, "and now you'll go straight home and forget you ever saw anyone on your journey."

The woman, blank faced, picked up her bag from the floor and headed out of the alley, slightly dazed but fully capable of walking in a straight line.

"Nicely done, love," Klaus praised her, before turning to look at the unconscious man, "and what about him."

"Will he do it again?" she asked him.

"We can't know for sure," he answered truthfully, "but such men are often repeat offenders."

"I want to hurt him," Caroline admitted.

Klaus tried very hard not to let his pleasure show, "I rather think he deserves it, sweetheart."

He wanted to see Caroline's lovely monster again, but he waited to see what she would decide.

Suddenly, the man stirred, muttering something they could only pick up because of their heightened senses. Caroline stiffened at his words, at the vitriol and filth directed towards the woman she had saved.

She was on him in a second, fangs ripping into his neck. There was no finesse there – baby vampires were generally extremely messy eaters and Caroline, despite her control, was no exception – and no attempt to mitigate the pain of the bite.

Klaus smirked. Caroline was kind and compassionate, but she clearly had limits.

She dropped the man's body to the floor and, when she stood up, he was reminded of the first time she had fed, of how delightful she had looked.

As he had that day, he swiped his thumb across her lips, staining his skin red. She tensed briefly, but then she leaned forward, almost tentatively, and pressed her bloody lips against his.

He could taste blood, and the waxy lipstick she had chosen, and then something that was distinctly Caroline.

She kissed him fiercely, hungrily, and he responded in turn. It was not the ideal location for a first kiss, in a dingy alleyway next to a cooling body, but he didn't really care.

After all, this was Caroline and she was glorious.

When her hands began fiddling with his jacket, and his own fingers starting inching up her legs, past the hem of her dress, Klaus knew he needed to stop before they both lost control.

He wasn't opposed to a bit of exhibitionism himself, but he didn't think Caroline would be too taken with the idea, at least not immediately, and she really deserved an actual bed.

"Caroline … sweetheart," he pulled away, just about managing to overcome the distraction of her pout.

She looked embarrassed once she came back to her senses somewhat, "sorry, I …"

Of course, she'd had a relatively sheltered life. He imagined that she'd never done anything more than exchange kisses with one of her suitors.

"Shall we go back to the house?" he suggested.

"Right, sure," she mumbled, suddenly looking crestfallen.

He suddenly realised what she might be thinking, how she could have construed his words as some sort of rejection.

"Caroline," he tilted her chin up and forced her to look at him, "do not think I do not want this, that I do not want you. I simply believe that a bed would be more comfortable for all the things I very much wish to do with you."

"Oh!" she let out a surprised squeak and he could tell she was simultaneously shocked and aroused by his words, "yes, I … yes."

"Are you sure, Caroline?"

Klaus wanted very much to touch her, to taste her skin, to make her scream in pleasure. But she had to be positive. He didn't let go of what was his, didn't give up those few things he truly cared for.

"Yes," she nodded, no hesitation in her voice, "yes, I'm sure."

Klaus grinned.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.

Since I don't have the talent for writing sex scenes, this will be a fade to black situation. Next chapter, a Stefan POV, will hopefully be up in the next few days, but I am on holiday and not sure how much time I'll have for writing.