Notes: New ficlet number one of two today.

One Phone Call

(Prompt: First Kiss + Anger Born of Worry. Rated K+)

When one of the officers had offered to call someone for him – Klaus' phone had been smashed in the scuffle and a slightly scary nurse had ordered him not to leave the curtained cubicle in the ER – he rattles off Caroline's number without really thinking about it.

Kol and Rebekah both live in the city but, once they ascertained that he wasn't in any real danger, they'd likely attempt to extract payment for the inconvenience of picking up their slightly battered brother. Caroline's the better choice.

She's been a friend of his for a year now and they've recently begun tiptoeing down the road to more.

She'll probably insist on cancelling their first date tomorrow, will try to bully him into taking it easy and resting all weekend. Klaus is going to have to convince her otherwise. His injuries are minor, nothing he can't shake off.

He hadn't really considered how Caroline would react to a call saying he was in the hospital following an attempted mugging.

He'll blame that on his slight concussion because she's known to be a fretter. He's just shrugging into his jacket, trying to resist scratching the few stitches the gash under his ear had required, when Caroline barrels in. He has only a moment to register how disheveled she is – her pink sweatpants clash horribly with the fuzzy yellow cardigan she's wearing – before he's distracted.

By Caroline's mouth against his, her hands in his hair, her body faintly trembling against him.

He makes an involuntary noise when the sudden contact hurts but when Caroline makes to pull back Klaus doesn't let her. Not when he's wanted her like this for longer than he cares to admit. He slips his fingers into her hair, wraps an arm around her waist. He parts his lips and her head tips up, a soft sigh spilling from her when he flicks his tongue out to taste her properly.

Her hands are tentative, gentle, when they come to rest on his chest. Klaus nips her lower lip and she moans, crowding closer. She pulls back immediately, eyes flying open, "Sorry!" she murmurs. "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not hurting me," Klaus assures her. "I'm fine." His head drops, nudging hers to the side, and he plants a kiss on her throat. Her fingers tighten in his shirt, her breath hitches, and Klaus is wondering if he can convince her to take a cab home so he doesn't have to stop doing this.

Caroline it seems, has other ideas. She steps away from him, the haze clearing from her eyes. She pokes a finger into his chest, "You distracted me."

"I distracted you?"

She ignores his incredulity, chin tipping up stubbornly. "First, a police officer calls me to tell me you're in the hospital."

Ah. Yes, he can see how that would be alarming.

"I'd have called myself but I was a bit busy with this." Klaus points to his face. He hasn't had a chance to look at it properly but from the clucking the nurse had done while stitching him up he imagines it's less than pretty.

Caroline wavers, her hands coming up to cradle his jaw so she can take a closer look. Klaus thinks he might have won.

Unfortunately, Caroline's stubborn. "Then," she says, a little softer but still distinctly peeved, "the officer tells me you were hurt because you indulged in some alpha male stupidity and wouldn't just hand over your freaking wallet."

Admittedly, not his finest moment. He'd sort of just reacted, his elbow coming up to smash back at his attacker when he'd been shoved against a wall. And then he'd been punched and things had just sort of escalated. "I…"

It's probably a good thing Caroline interrupts. He really had no decent defense, is sure she'd object to him pointing out that, since his mugger was currently cooling his heels in a cell, Klaus had technically won. "What if he'd had a knife, Klaus? Or a gun? This could have been so much worse."

She's blinking rapidly, and Klaus sees the shine of tears in her eyes, lets out a groan. He tucks her hair behind her ear and draws her closer. She's stiffer this time but her arms wind around him, her forehead coming to rest on his shoulder. "I know. But it's not worse, Caroline. I'm fine."

"Because you were lucky," she mutters, the words still pointed.

"Very lucky," Klaus agrees. He's not only speaking of escaping his attacker unscathed.

Caroline rests against him for a moment and Klaus thinks he feels her inhale deeply. "I'm really glad you're okay, Klaus." He holds her a bit tighter and, gradually, tension leaks out of her. She wipes her eyes when she pulls back, expression now calm. "Okay, what are the doctor's orders? The officer said you were probably concussed. Are you allowed to sleep?"

She sounds like she's ready to make a list and Klaus smiles, relieved that tears are no longer in danger of falling.

"I can sleep, but I need to wake up every two hours. Here, they gave me a pamphlet." Klaus pulls it out of his back pocket and hands it over Caroline's head bends over it immediately, her eyes scanning the text. "Guess I'm sleeping over before our first date, huh?"

The circumstances aren't ideal but Klaus isn't about to object.