Chances

Chapter 3: The Appointment

Taste me, these salty tears on my cheeks

That's what a year-long headache does to you

I'm not okay, I feel so scattered

Don't say I'm all that matters

Leave me, déjà vu

If you need me, wanna see me

You better hurry, I'm leaving soon

listen before i go - Billie Eilish

For an embarrassing long time he stared at the screen, trying to comprehend the letters that were shining back at him. He didn't know what had brought the change upon, didn't know exactly what was lying ahead of him, but he didn't mind one bit. The words were more than he had hoped for after the disaster that was their last conversation. He was convinced she would barely ever speak to him again, that he had to move heaven and earth to get as much as one word that wasn't spat in his face with anger or worse, fear. But here he was, clawing at his phone like it was his lifeline.

Caroline:

10 a.m. MF Hospital.

Be there if you want to be involved.

It wasn't much, but he was grateful for the surprising change of mind and would not let this opportunity pass him. Rebekah had informed him that Caroline had to check in with a doctor more often than pregnant women usually did to make sure she and the baby were actually fine.

Well, that was about two hours ago and now the hybrid stood in front of said hospital waiting for the blonde to arrive. He was early, he knew, but for some reason he was nervous. An alien feeling for him. Almost ridiculous. He was the most powerful being to walk the earth, and yet he seemed to have nothing on any other human male that was to become a father for the first time. Mixing in his confusion about Caroline's sudden change of mind, he was certain his emotional capacity for the day had reached its limit.

Caroline felt the anxiety taking over, her palms becoming a sweaty mess.

"This was a mistake. We should turn around. I'm sure Dr. Fell will be able to reschedule our appointment."

"No, we are not turning around, Caroline." Rebekah insisted. "You said yourself that you should have listened to him yesterday. That you want to give him the chance to be a part of this."

"Yes, that was then and this is now!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Calm down, everything will be fine. And if my brother decides to act like an arse again I will kick him out." Rebekah promised.

"Do you think he will actually come? I mean he said he needed to leave today. Maybe he already headed back to New Orleans?" Caroline hoped.

"Nope. I've seen him this morning when he received your text. He will be there." Rebekah assured her friend.

"You did? What did he do?" Caroline asked.

"Nothing. He stared at the screen for an awfully long time. I think he was overwhelmed. You should have seen him last night when he got back from your place. Now, I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to feel at least a fraction of the pain he inflicted on us, but he was a mess. I don't think he slept at all last night." Rebekah said.

"Well, I only told him the truth." And revealed more than I had wanted to, Caroline added in her mind. Yes, that stupid confession. She could have built a neon sign that read 'I'm still kinda in love with you' and it wouldn't have made a difference. Why did she have to reveal her trouble of getting over him to him of all people?

"And he deserved to hear it. But I have to say, I'm kind of impressed with Liz." Rebekah admitted. It had been Caroline's mother who had cleared her daughter's head and helped her figure out what she wanted. In spite of how much Klaus had hurt her daughter, she still managed to keep a clear head and give her daughter the advise she needed. 'Give him the chance if you want him to be a part of your child's life, if you think he is worth it'.

Caroline had come to the conclusion that, yes, she needed to keep her child away from bad influence. But she should also make sure she did everything she could to provide them with a life as normal as possible. Keeping the father away might not be the best way to do so. Klaus should at least be given the chance to be there for his own child. After all, the kid would someday ask why his father wasn't around. And Caroline didn't want to be blamed for that. No, if Klaus messed up again, she would at least be able to tell their child the truth without feeling guilty.

Even if that meant she had to interact with him again. Her heart was looking forward to it, not quite over him yet. However, the rational part of her knew that it would hurt. Also, it was bound to be really hard to resist him and keep her heart in check and her brain in charge of making the decisions. She wouldn't let him hurt her like that again. That meant she had to get over him and not hope against hope that somehow they would end up together. Because that was something that wouldn't happen. It couldn't. Not if Caroline had to make sure not to get hurt again. She had to protect herself from the things she felt about him in order to focus on her child.

Just then they came to a stop in front of the hospital. Her eyes found Klaus standing in front of the doors already waiting for them. Her heart skipped a beat and she cursed inwardly. Resisting him will definitely be a challenge.

"Let's go." Rebekah pushed, and they got out of the car, making their way to the entrance of the hospital.

Rebekah smiled weakly at her brother who nodded in return.

"So, you're still here." Caroline began.

"My return can wait another few hours." Klaus affirmed.

The tension was thick in the air. Caroline still unsure about her decision, Klaus being nervous and trying his best not to show it. Rebekah eyed them curiously and felt sad for the circumstances. She knew that with Caroline, her brother could get what he had been craving since he was human. Love. But at the same time, he had sabotaged his own happiness with his actions. No matter his intention, he had broken the trust Caroline had built in him. Destroyed the girls image of the man that hid underneath the volatile monster.

"I'll be right back. You two go ahead." Rebekah said, thinking they should probably have the opportunity to talk without her presence for a while.

Caroline looked at her, eyes pleading, but Rebekah simply smiled and turned around.

"Let's get this over with." Caroline murmured and started to walk, Klaus close on her heals.

Inside, they were directed to the room Caroline grew accustomed to and instructed to wait for Dr. Fell who currently had some errand to attend to but would be with them shortly.

The silence was making Caroline nervous. Klaus seemed to be deep in thought and Caroline didn't dare start the conversation. Damn Rebekah for leaving her alone, she thought.

"Thank you." Klaus finally said, surprising Caroline. "For inviting me to come along."

"Well, I thought you might as well get the chance to at least join me once." Caroline answered a little shy.

"I know I should have been here every single time." Klaus began.

"Don't. I get it. Rebekah was pretty mad at you, you know? But now she seems to trust you again. While I know that her love for you blinds her to a certain degree, she would not forgive you as easily this time. You have gained Kol's trust, too. Whatever happened, or is still happening, in New Orleans would probably scare the shit out of me. I mean, it obviously scared you enough to do what you did. While I stand by what I said before, I decided that I should trust you. At least when it comes to your family's safety. I mean, you have a serious problem about how to protect the ones you care about, catering them around in coffins and all, but you did succeed in the end. And the fact that you're here, wanting to be involved, convinces me to trust you with our child's safety, too." Caroline interrupted.

"You are part of our family, Caroline. And so is our child. I will never let any harm come to either of you." He vowed solemnly.

Their eyes met and Caroline could see that he was telling the truth. It was one of the rare moments where Klaus actually allowed himself to show emotion.

"Just promise me one thing." Caroline said. "When the danger has been dealt with, think about it. Only come back and be a part of our life if you intend to be there always. Not for me, but the child. I know what it feels like to have an absentee father and no matter how irrational you know it is, you will find ways to blame yourself for their absence. To find the reason for them abandoning you inside yourself."

The words hit Klaus hard. She was not only giving him a choice, but she was opening up about her own feelings, the emotional pain her father had inflicted on her. He could only relate, more so. His 'father' had chased and tried to kill him for a millennium, after all.

"Never. I will protect our child. Always and forever." Klaus promised.

"I will hold you to that statement, then." Caroline smiled and Klaus returned it without a second thought.

"Sorry for the wait." Dr. Fell excused herself upon entering.

"Don't worry." Caroline said with a wave of her hand.

"I'm Dr. Meredith Fell." She introduced herself as she saw the new face.

"Klaus Mikaelson." Klaus said shortly.

"The father, I presume?" Meredith asked.

"Yes, that would be him." Caroline affirmed.

"It's nice to see you involved, Mr. Mikaelson." The doctor added kindly.

Klaus nodded.

"So, Ms. Forbes. How are you? Was there anything different since our last appointment?" Dr. Fell asked.

"I feel good. Everything is going well, I think." Caroline answered.

What followed was another routine appointment. Checking her weight, blood pressure, and a few vials of blood were taken. Klaus watched all of this like a hawk and Caroline could see he was holding himself back when the doctor proceeded to take the blood. Thankfully, Klaus managed to appear almost impassive to the doctor, not making her unnecessarily uncomfortable.

In the end, Caroline was sat on the examination chair while Dr. Fell prepared for the ultra sound.

"Forgive me for asking again, but now that Mr. Mikaelson has joined us as well, I was wondering whether you still stand by your decision concerning the gender?" Dr. Fell asked.

Caroline looked at Klaus for an answer. She had previously stated that she didn't want to know the gender, yet. It didn't matter that much to her. Not when the pregnancy itself was a miracle. All she wanted was for her child to be born healthy and without major issues. But now that Klaus was here too, she wondered if he wanted to know. Chances were high that he would not be able to make it back in time for his child's birth.

Klaus' eyes met hers, and she could see that he was once again holding back, probably not wanting to upset her with saying the wrong thing.

"We want to know." Caroline stated.

Klaus shifted in his chair, a bit uncomfortable. This entire situation still seemed so impossible to him. He settled on keeping his gaze on the screen to stop himself from overthinking the situation.

That only worked until he actually saw his child appear on screen, the heartbeat filling the room. The air was sucked out of his lungs, eyes widened. So much for having reached his emotional limit for the day. His mouth opened slightly.

Caroline watched Klaus, and she could swear her heart was swelling in her chest. He looked perfectly human in this moment. Awed at seeing his child for the first time. Hesitantly, Caroline reached out and placed her hand over his softly. That seemed to have thrown him out of his trance as his eyes moved to both their hands and then to her.

"Ms. Forbes, Mr. Mikaelson. It looks like you're going to be the parents of a very healthy little boy." Dr. Fell informed them.

Klaus' eyes switched back to the screen, looking at his son with a smile grazing his lips. Caroline's brain was reminding her not to let herself be so engulfed in his reaction. The way her heart beat a fair warning that she was dancing on the edge, in danger of falling madly in love with him instead of keeping her promise of never letting him back in like that.

A boy, she thought, smiling to herself. She could already hear Rebekah groaning at the fact that there was still no new female addition to the Mikaelson family. But Caroline was excited and had to hold herself back not to fall into her control-freak ways and start discussing names then and there. Instead, she revelled in the happy moment.

A few minutes later, they exited the hospital.

"Urgh! Your sister is the worst!" Caroline complained.

"What's wrong?" He asked, slightly concerned.

"She ditched me! Look! She sent me a text saying she is at Bonnie's, waiting for me there. Can you believe her? God, how am I supposed to raise another Mikaelson when all you and your siblings do is drive me absolutely nuts!" Caroline groaned.

"I'll give you a ride." Klaus offered immediately, barely containing the laughter.

"No. She wants to know what happened? Well, she will have to come to me, then." She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"So, you'd rather stay in the hospital's parking lot than accepting a ride from me?" Klaus asked smirking.

"Wrong again. I will let you drive me to the Grill so you can buy me lunch." Caroline stated.

Klaus chuckled lightly.

"Well, then I will do just that." Klaus agreed, far too happy that Caroline was willingly spending time with him again.

"Don't get any ideas though. I'm still seriously mad at you!" Caroline pointed a finger at him.

"Lunch should win me some brownie points then, right?" Klaus teased.

"Brownies! Yes!" Caroline's eyes grew wide.

"Whatever the lady desires." Klaus winked at her.

The Grill was just starting to get busy when they arrived. School was over for the day and many students met up to chat and play pool.

The pair chose a booth at the far corner and placed their order. To Caroline's disappointment, they didn't serve brownies. Instead, she opted for a chocolate milkshake.

"I thought by now you had to be back in New Orleans?" Caroline said.

"Well, I cannot stay for that long now. But that won't stop me from enjoying lunch for now." Klaus said.

"How long will you be gone?" Caroline asked.

Klaus sighed. "It will be a while. Although I have a good reason to speed things up now."

"Isn't there anything we could do to help you?" Caroline inquired.

"Careful, love. I might get the impression you actually want me to be with you all the time." Klaus joked.

"Now that sounds like a bit of a stretch, doesn't it?" Caroline teased.

"I wouldn't mind." Klaus stated seriously, his gaze getting intense. Caroline shivered.

"Ok, stop. I am tolerating you for our son's sake. So please keep the flirting to a minimum." Caroline said sternly.

"Go ahead, keep telling that to yourself. But don't expect me to believe you. I saw the way you looked at me all day. The way your body was craving my presence. You are fighting a battle against yourself. For good reason, I admit. But let me tell you this: I will do everything I can, not only to be a good father, but to make you want me again. To make you mine. You may fight, but in the end, you will let yourself fall back into my arms. Not because you lost, but because, in the end, we will both win." Klaus promised.

"You had your chance. You blew it. And I don't even want to know why. All I know is that I did enough waiting when I was with Tyler. I let every mistake he made slide because I was naive enough to believe he would put me first. If not today, then someday in the future. But I'm done with that." Caroline explained.

"What you said before the doctor came in. How you wanted me to think about everything once my enemies have been taken out. Just know that there is absolutely no doubt that I will be back. I believed you would be safer without me, that I needed to make absolute sure that you would not seek me out on your own in order to keep you safe. I knew that you would be hurt initially, but you are strong, Caroline. So I never doubted that you would stand strong until I came back to ask your forgiveness and tell you the truth about everything. Being away from you was tormenting me, but I resisted the urge to apologise to you the seconds those cruel words left my mouth." Klaus explained and Caroline could feel her heart beating way too fast. "All I wanted was for you to be safe. For my family to be safe. We just got Henrik back and parting from him felt like losing him all over again. But I had to keep you safe. So, there's the difference between me and Lockwood. You bring it out in me, Caroline. You have ever since that fateful night I walked into your room. I finally let myself be happy again, truly live a life worth living. And it was all because of you. Yes, I have been an absolute arse in the past, but never doubt my intention when it comes to you or my family. Because I will gladly sacrifice everything to keep you safe and out of harms way."

Caroline was rendered speechless. Basically, the confession Klaus just casually made was everything she ever wanted. He put her safety above his own and included her in the small circle of people he ever cared about. The vicious hybrid she first met disappeared right in front of her and a kind man appeared, sitting in front of her, full of hope to receive her forgiveness for his wrongs. She wondered how often he had opened up like this in his life. If he had ever let anyone close enough to do so.

"Prove it." Caroline whispered. "Prove that you meant what you just said."

"I will." He promised determinedly.

Simultaneously, they heard a group of girls gossip just a few tables away from them. While Caroline simply rolled her eyes, used to their hurtful words, Klaus felt his blood beginning to boil. One thing they uttered was more ridiculous than the next.

"Tell me they don't truly believe that utter bullshit?" Klaus asked, remembering Caroline's words from the night before.

"Oh, they truly do. They live for gossip. I would know." Caroline affirmed.

Klaus raised an eyebrow in question.

"I was head cheerleader, remember?" Caroline pointed out.

Klaus heard another ridiculous rumour and instead of getting angrier, he found that he wasn't able to control a snort escaping him.

"You're after my money, then? What is the modern term for men that keep young girls in their bed for money?" Klaus mused.

"Sugar daddy?" Caroline helped out.

Klaus grinned at her, showing of his teeth and dimples. The amusement was clear in his eyes and Caroline knew that whatever was to come out of his mouth next wouldn't be good.

"Love, I told you not to call me that in public. Just imagine the rumours if someone was to overhear you." Klaus chastised.

"You absolute asshat!" Caroline threw a tissue at him while Klaus chuckled and Caroline couldn't help but grin too.

That little stunt had the cheerleaders looking at them curiously. For all they knew, Klaus had fled from Caroline, not wanting to be involved with a 'gold digging whore' any longer. The scene in front of them looked more like a regular couple, or at least friends.

Over lunch, Klaus and Caroline had returned to their friendly banter and Caroline was relieved that he didn't bring up the topic of getting back together up again. She knew she wasn't ready for any of that yet. First, she had to focus on their son and getting out of town like Klaus had requested. Then, she would have to figure out how to properly raise a kid. Also, he had to earn the right to ever touch her in a romantic way ever again. She wouldn't forgive him so easily.

Klaus paid their lunch and cracked a few more jokes about how she was only after her money. On their way out, they passed the group of girls that had yet to stop talking about the two vampires. Not knowing that they would be able to make out their whispers, the girls continued their commentary.

"I have to give her credit for his looks. Hopefully their child takes after his side of the family." one of them said.

"Yes. I mean, imagine being ugly and unwanted. That poor child is cursed already." the other agreed.

That made Klaus tense. H wanted to rip that one particular girl to shreds. If it wasn't for the fact that killing people in the most crowded place in town would unsettle the beautiful blonde next to him, the entire room would have been painted red by now.

"I still don't get how such an arrogant and insecure slut got someone like him to get her pregnant. Do you think she got him drunk first? I mean, I don't see a guy like him touching her willingly" yet another girl pointed out.

Caroline released a faint sigh and Klaus knew that all of that was bothering her more than she let on. Hoping she wouldn't punch his face in, Klaus turned his body so that he stood in front of Caroline. She came to an abrupt halt and looked at him in question. When his eyes found the group behind her for a few seconds, she panicked a little. He wouldn't, or would he?

Before Caroline could ask or do anything else, Klaus had put both of his hands on her face and pulled her closer for a kiss.

Her eyes widened in surprise but soon closed as the hole that has been inside of Caroline's heart for a few months slowly sewed itself back together. Without thinking, Caroline kissed him back and wound her arms around his neck. His lips were softer than she remembered and the feeling of being so close to him so much better than any dream she has had.

Unfortunately, the moment couldn't last forever and Klaus released her. They looked inside each other's eyes and found the reflection of longing they both felt.

"That was unexpected." Caroline whispered.

"Shh, love. Wouldn't want to ruin the show." Klaus replied softly. In that moment she finally realised what he was doing and grinned.

"Let's get you home, love."

AN: I know, it's been a minute. And when I say a minute, I mean over a month.

But you got a chapter filled with Klaroline. So, that's something, right?

Also, instead of explaining the long wait I decided to simply upload another chapter since I'm sure you'd rather read more of the story and less excuses. It will probably be up as well within the next hour, I think. So, two chapters in one day! *yaaay*