большо́е спаси́бо Russia! :)

Again, thank you to Pem, Justine and the other guest reviewers whom I can't reach via PM! :)

Short and sweet today: I am SO immensely grateful to all of you, you can't even begin to imagine.

XXXX

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
WHERE THOU ART, THERE IS HOME

"Where the heck have you been?" Liz demanded, her voice just one level from shouting. "Just one text here and there, telling me you're fine, and your friends just making vague comments about some sort of vacation! Caroline Forbes, I want an explanation!"

Caroline fidgeted. "I… ah… well, it's actually not Caroline Forbes anymore, Mom. It's… ahm… ah… oh, dammit, it's Caroline… Mikaelson now."

With a loud splintering noise, her mother's coffee mug crashed to the floor. Liz gripped the counter for support and Caroline wondered if there was any sort of magic she could conjure to dissolve on the spot. She had known her mother would be far from pleased, which was one of the reasons she had insisted on spending the first couple of nights at home after their return from … oh… paradise… and telling Liz the news alone. Klaus had thrown a minor fit but she had stood her ground. She wanted her mother to get the worst of it out of her system before coming face-to-face with her new son-in-law, and she had warned Klaus on pain of no sex – yeah right, as if you would ever see that through for more than two hours – to stay away until she told him otherwise. He hated it, and so did she. After not separating for weeks, it was pure agony to be away from him.

"Please tell me I haven't heard you correctly. Please tell me you did not get married, and to Klaus of all people!"

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I'm afraid that is exactly what happened. I married him, and I am ridiculously happy."

Liz dropped into a chair, running a hand through her hair. "Caroline, you don't even like the guy! Wait a minute, did he compel you? He forced you into this, am I right? God, I'll kill that son of a bitch! How could he do that to you? Does he not have the least bit of humanity left? What did…"

"Whoa, Mom, stop it!" Caroline raised her hands to keep her mother from ranting on. "He neither compelled nor forced me into anything! It's a long story, but he never did anything against my will, not a single time, even when he had more than enough opportunity to do so. He even refused to compel me when I offered, and… oh Mom, you can't imagine what he went through!" She shook her head. "As I said, long story. I married him because I wanted to. I married him because I love him more than my own life."

The shock in her mother's eyes hadn't subsided in the least, but Caroline knew the scrutiny she was undergoing now. Liz's 'The Closer' stare – Sheriff Forbes would find out the truth eventually. After a while, her mother sighed and shook her head.

"All right then, let's have the full story. But I think I will need something stronger than coffee."

Caroline told her mother everything that had happened so far, leaving out the details of Henrik's ordeal and Klaus' guilt-ridden centuries. That was not for her to tell anyone, not even her mother. Liz was very silent during the whole story, only interjecting some questions here and there. When Caroline arrived at the proposal, Liz held out her hand.

"Show me."

Caroline let her mother inspect the rings. All of a sudden, Liz stiffened. "This ring… he said something about an auction?"

"Yes, why?"

"Hand me your phone."

Liz started the browser and quickly typed something into Google. She stared at the screen, then at the ring and back at the screen.

"Honey," she said after seeing Caroline's quizzical look, "this ring has been sold at an auction about four months ago for two million dollars." Gaping at her Mom open-mouthed, Caroline grabbed the phone and stared at the picture and the corresponding article.

Two million dollars.

"He is crazy!" she shouted. "He is totally insane!"

"Ahm, sorry to remind you, but you knew that already."

Caroline hit the speed dial. He answered on the first ring.

"Missing me already, my love?"

"That's… ah… beside the point right now. Are you out of your freaking mind, Klaus Mikaelson?"

"I don't really think so, but you might want a second opinion on that. Why does the tone of your voice suggest that I committed some unspeakable crime against humanity? Again?"

"Two million dollars? Two million freaking dollars, Klaus? What were you thinking?"

"Should it be your engagement ring you are referring to, I am afraid I must disappoint you. It was closer to three million, as the previous owner put up some fair resistance."

Caroline gasped. "Th… three million?" She looked at Liz who was refilling her drink and gulping it down in one swig.

"Klaus, you can't possibly spend that much money on a ring! I was just making progress in explaining to my Mom that you are not entirely insane, and then she comes up with a picture of my ring at the auction, and now I have to start all over again. Come to think of it, it will probably be a futile effort – you are insane!"

She heard him chuckle. "Sweetheart, nobody ever gets between me and what I want. I wanted to give you that ring, so stop whining and bear it like a Mikaelson."

Her heart warmed for a second before she remembered she was supposed to be outraged. "But…"

"No buts, sweetheart. One of these days I will tell you the family's net worth. Three million is something along the lines of daily petty cash. That ring is yours for all eternity, as in 'Diamonds are Forever'. So just drop it and tell me. I haven't heard that in far too long now."

She heard a gagging sound in the background, followed by a crash and a loud yelp.

"Kol. Bugger off. Now. Or your manhood won't see another dawn." Caroline suppressed a giggle when she heard Kol mutter, "Says the man who lost his to a baby vampire not so long ago."

"How dare he say that to the God of Sex impersonated?" Caroline shrieked with mock outrage, remembering too late who was actually listening. Flaming red in the face, she turned to look at her mother. There was a hilarious mixture of shock, embarrassment and amusement on Liz's face.

After a moment of silence, she heard Klaus desperately trying to suppress his laughter. "Brilliant. Now you did it. We won't have a moment's peace in this house until you tell him I am good for nothing in bed."

"Never," she replied with a tender smile. She could almost see his breathtaking dimpled smile on the other end.

"Now tell me."

Deciding that she had already compromised herself beyond repair in front of her mother and had nothing further to lose, she whispered, "I love you, Klaus."

"As I love you. I will talk to you later. Good luck, by the way."

When she hung up, her gaze carefully darted towards Liz who was now sitting with her arms folded across her chest, watching her so closely that Caroline started to squirm under her probing stare. At last, Liz spoke.

"You do love him." It was not a question, but Caroline still felt the need to confirm her mother's statement.

"Yes, Mom. He gives me so much strength, he makes me feel like I am the only person in the universe who matters and he is always, always there when I need him. And strange as it may sound, he needs me, too. Look, Mom, I am so sorry that I didn't tell you earlier, but everything happened so fast and I was so overwhelmed. I still am. But… you know, there are not too many things I am certain about, except this – he is the one." She took her mother's hand and squeezed it gently, her voice urgent now. "Mom, I know who he is and I have accepted him as he has accepted me, just the way we are. I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you, but… please. Your approval means so much to me. I could never be truly happy knowing that you are unhappy with my choice."

Her mother heaved a heavy sigh. "I can't really say that I am thrilled with the news. Totally shocked is more like it. But I can see and hear that you love him, honey. And if one thing can be said in his favour, he has never harmed you and he has always been… different around you. So yes, you have my preliminary blessing. But I will be watching you two very closely, and I expect Klaus to come and speak to me before you move into his house. And I want to talk to him alone." Suddenly, Liz got up and hugged her fiercely in a strange outburst of emotion.

"My goodness. A married woman. Ah, vampire. Whatever. And married to the Big Bad Wolf, at that." She shook her head. "I will need quite some time to get used to the idea."

"Thank you, Mom," Caroline sniffed, hugging her mother back. "Thank you! I can't even begin to tell you just how much it means to you that you can live with this. More or less, that is. I was so scared that you might not want to see me again or shoot me – or him – or something of the sort!"

"Should I ever consider shooting anyone, it will be him, honey. Not that it would make much of a difference, but it's the gesture that counts." Liz hugged her again and smiled cautiously. "Do you know why I can live with it? Or rather, learn to live with it? Apart from the fact that you're practically swooning whenever his name comes up?"

Caroline shook her head. She was beyond surprised that her mother was taking the whole Klaus thing so well, but she hadn't wanted to ask for fear that Liz might change her mind once she started questioning her motives.

"I can accept it because Klaus is a very dangerous man. I have heard about and seen the way he protects his family. We all live in a dangerous world, but yours is infinitely more perilous than mine, and even though you are equipped to deal with most of those dangers, there will never be a safer place for you than at the side of the most dangerous of them all. And that is what I want for you. To be safe. And happy. Everything else is secondary." She cleared her throat. They were both not overly used to showing their feelings towards each other. "Now. When were you planning on moving into his house?"

Caroline swallowed. The thought made her nervous. Even though she wanted nothing more than being with Klaus every waking minute, the idea of no longer calling this house her home was a little terrifying. But she supposed that was what happened to every woman when she left her childhood home, vampire or not.

"Klaus wanted me to move in kind of immediately, but… Mom, can you take tonight off and stay here with me? Just you, me, greasy food and some eighties movies? Then we will have today to celebrate and… kind of… mentally prepare ourselves."

Liz's gaze softened. It was not often that Caroline had asked her to stay with her, and she could see that her daughter was a little nervous. "I'd love that, honey. Tell you what. I will call in now and take today off, then you tell Klaus to come over and meet me here while you go and buy every piece of junk food you can get your hands on."

"Deal," Caroline grinned happily and grabbed her phone when her mother cocked her head and gave her a wicked look.

"So, God of Sex, huh?"

Caroline blushed furiously and hid her face in her hands. "Oh Mom! Please!"

"Well, I suppose a thousand years of life must be good for something," Liz chuckled.

Klaus arrived twenty minutes later. Caroline's heart swelled at the sight of him when she opened the door. He was wearing black dress pants, a dark grey shirt and… a tie? The butterflies were hopping up and down as she looked at him appraisingly. God, is he hot! He took her hand, kissed it lovingly and looked her over.

"Still alive, I see. Is that a good sign?" he grinned.

"You will manage, too, I'm sure. What's with the tie?" she asked, biting her lip. "Not that I don't like it," she added quickly.

"As if you have never seen me wearing a tie before," he almost pouted. Then he shrugged. "Bekah and Silv ganged up on me. They said the occasion demands a tie, although I'm not sure if they are secretly hoping your mother will attempt to strangle me with it. 'Suit up,' were their exact words."

Caroline giggled. "That gives 'How I met your Mother' a whole new angle! Remember, Barney Stinson – you're awesome. Oh, and no machine guns in the house to ruin your shirt, I checked." She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek, lingering only the slightest little bit, and started to walk towards her car.

"You are not staying?" he asked, and Caroline had to strangle back a laugh at the obvious hint of panic in his voice.

"The Sheriff wants to talk to you alone. I'm going shopping. My Mom and I will make it a girl's day, and I will move in with you tomorrow."

His eyes lit up, and she saw a moment of pure, untainted happiness in them. Then he nodded and looked at her longingly.

"Caroline," was all he said in a husky whisper, setting her on fire before he turned around and disappeared into the house.

Driving with wobbly knees is a bitch.

The conversation between Klaus and Liz seemed to have gone down relatively well. Neither of them went into any details when Caroline returned, but they had nodded at each other, and both their faces seemed relaxed. Caroline made a mental note to wheedle the details of the discussion out of Klaus at some point. It would be a piece of work, but she was sure they would both very much enjoy her attempts at getting him to talk.

He took his leave a short while later, after he and Caroline had exchanged some lingering looks and Liz had had to clear her throat at some point. Caroline walked him to the porch, where he took her in his arms and kissed her very softly.

"You do not have second thoughts, do you, my love?" he asked with some trepidation in his voice.

Caroline shook her head and snuggled into his embrace. "No, Klaus. None whatsoever. It's just that I kind of need this day to… say goodbye."

He tilted her face up so he could look at her. "Caroline, this is not goodbye. It is the beginning of a new chapter in your life, but your mother will always be your mother, nothing is ever going to change that."

"It's not that. I am not saying goodbye to my Mom. This was where I grew up, my home for the last two decades. Everything happened here, so many big and small events, so many good and bad memories. Coming down the stairs in the morning in my PJs and bunny slippers, sitting at the kitchen table with my mom, having hot cocoa… Watching crap on TV, fighting with Elena over who was the cutest guy in town… I know you will think I'm completely silly, but I just need today to say a proper farewell to childhood."

"There is nothing the least bit silly about that, Caroline. Well, aside from the bunny slippers."

Slippaaaaahs.

"Do you want to know something? I almost envy you a little for the possibility to do this. To properly celebrate the end of one phase and the beginning of another. And if you need more time, please tell me so," he said gently, although she could tell he loathed the idea.

She wrapped her arms around his waist. "No. Just today. Having to miss you for an entire day is more than enough."

"There goes the understatement again. An hour is more than enough, my darling," he murmured, kissing her temple.

After a dozen soft, lingering, longing kisses, they parted.

Caroline and her mom spent a wonderful day and evening together, reminiscing, talking, laughing and even crying a little bit. Childhood memories, school stories… everything came up at some point, and Caroline really didn't mind that they left out all the unpleasant stuff this time. They talked about Klaus and about Caroline's feelings, about how it had all happened. She had thought of texting Elena, but she wanted to be alone with Liz today and Elena would most definitely have wanted to come over once she heard the news.

When she finally went to bed in the wee hours of the morning, she texted Klaus.

Asleep already, Caligula?

The reply came within seconds.

Little Baby Vampire, can you sleep when an obnoxious younger brother has Rammstein blaring at a volume that might possibly bring down the house, if not the entire Western Hemisphere?

How long has that been going on?

A couple of hours, why?

And you still haven't daggered him or snapped his neck? How could that happen?

Don't tempt me. I am missing you sorely and Kol is seriously getting on my nerves.

I miss you, too, Klaus. I miss being in your arms. I miss feeling your lips on mine before I fall asleep.

There was a pause. Caroline wondered if he had finally gone to snap Kol's neck after all so he could text in peace.

Close your eyes.

How was she supposed to text with her eyes closed? Well, he was probably going to call her once he had murdered his brother and called his lawyer to sue Rammstein. She closed her eyes and thought of the way he kissed her when she was falling asleep, all soft lips and quiet whispers.

"Sleep well, my beautiful Caroline."

It took her a moment to realize that she was not imagining his voice. He was here. Smiling, but without opening her eyes, she held out her arms and felt him move into her embrace. His lips tenderly brushed hers once, twice, three times. And he was gone. Caroline lay there, never opening her eyes, locking the overwhelming feelings securely inside her memory.

The next morning after her mother left for work and they had stood hugging each other for a full five minutes, Caroline began to pack. She sent a quick text to Elena who appeared not ten minutes later. After explaining to her what had happened, Elena just nodded, mumbling that she had seen it coming anyway. Caroline was ridiculously disappointed at her friend's lack of surprise and reaction, but then Elena saw the ring and her squeal all but echoed from the walls. They were back into girly giggling mode within seconds, and Caroline proceeded to tell her all the details about her trip while they set to work. The girls spent the better part of the morning talking and trying to decide what Caroline would take with her and what would be left behind. As she wasn't really moving to the other side of the world, at least not for the time being, she could always come back and get what she needed, so there was no need to make any rash decisions right away.

Around noon, Klaus, Elijah and Silv appeared to start transporting Caroline's belongings over to the mansion. She grinned widely at Elijah in his suit. He was the only man in the world who suited up to carry boxes. He hugged her and told her how glad both he and Silv were that she was officially a part of the family – which of course she had been for a while now, as he did not fail to point out. Caroline remembered how the relief had never left his eyes after Silv had finally come to, which had taken quite a few hours, and it had been more than obvious that he had no intention of ever leaving her side again. On their flight back from Aitutaki, Klaus had called Elijah just to find out that he and Silv had got married in Paris the exact same day Caroline and Klaus had on their island. Klaus had started to laugh at the news, somewhat incredulous but happy for his brother, and the two of them had emptied an entire bottle of regular Krug to celebrate. Caroline marveled at how incredibly radiant Silv looked. She never stopped smiling, and Caroline supposed that was what she looked like herself. Elijah did not show any outward emotions, but the happiness surrounding him was almost palpable.

"Where are Bekah and Kol?" Caroline asked now.

"Bekah is out hunting and I have no idea where Kol is. After you saved his life last night, he left and hasn't returned yet," Klaus replied evenly, piling up three boxes and looking around for more stuff to carry. She had been surprised that he hadn't brought any of his Hybrids to do the handiwork.

"Saved his life? Have I been teleported somewhere? Do I have a twin sister I don't know of?"

"My darling, had it not been for your last text, I would have shoved that disgusting Rammstein crap down his miserable throat a minute later and daggered him afterwards. You saved him." They looked at each other, smiling, remembering. Silv, who was stacking books into a box, gave a very unladylike snort.

"I really wish you hadn't spared his life. It gives him free rein to further plague us with that – dare I call it music? – in the future."

Klaus grinned. "No worries, dear. I disposed of everything Rammstein and of his entire Death Metal collection this morning after he left and have asked an old witch acquaintance to stop by and have our rooms sound proofed."

The relief on Silv's face was almost comical. "I never thought I'd say this, but… Klaus Mikaelson, you have my undying gratitude!"

"Ugh," Elena groaned and turned towards Caroline, "Care, what's in here? Will you take this with you?" She held out a small box she had just found in the drawer of her bedside table. Caroline blushed a little and nodded.

"Yeah," she mumbled, and Elena lifted the lid of the box to peek inside. Puzzled, she pulled out a drawing and a couple of handwritten notes. She looked at Caroline, then at Klaus and back at Caroline. Klaus looked over Caroline's shoulder to see Elena holding the drawing he had made for Caroline ages ago, his notes to her and… his drawing of Henrik.

"You kept this?" he asked in a strange voice. Caroline nodded, not sure why he sounded so tense all of a sudden. He looked at Elena and Silv and said, "Will you excuse us for a moment, ladies?" Without waiting for an answer, he took Caroline's hand and led her out of the room, hurrying past Elijah's questioning face. They flashed outside until they were at some distance from the house. Klaus halted and turned to face her.

"Why?" He sounded neutral, but Caroline could feel something simmering beneath his carefully composed demeanour.

"Henrik is a part of you, Klaus. A part of who you are. He meant so infinitely much to you and I want to be able to think of him the way you saw him before everything happened." She paused. "Maybe you could paint him? A portrait, so all of you can remember him as he was in his lifetime?"

Klaus looked at her for a long time. Then he let out a heavy breath and brushed her cheek with his knuckles. Caroline leaned into his touch with a sigh, making him smile. "Your portrait suggestion is lovely, but I am afraid I'm not ready to look at Henrik's face on a daily basis, Caroline. Maybe some day. I have a feeling that you will remind me of it from time to time, am I right?" He smiled at her tenderly.

"You bet. Your family would love that, I'm sure."

He took her face in his hands and brought it to his. "They are no longer just my family, Caroline."

She stopped breathing, and his lips touched hers. Slowly, gently at first, but then the kiss deepened, making them both melt into each other. Klaus' hands were in her hair the moment Caroline's fingers touched the Signum on his neck. She felt his sweet tongue leisurely invade her mouth, being eagerly met by her own.

"Guys," Elena's voice sounded from afar, "you can spend the next decade making out, so would you mind?"

Reluctantly, they let go of each other. Klaus pressed a small kiss to Caroline's neck. "You know, my darling, if I hadn't already told you how much I love you, this would have been the moment. There are no words to tell you what it means to me that you kept that drawing for the reasons you did." His voice lowered to a mere whisper. "You are my redemption, Caroline."

She stared at him, mesmerized, and took his hand. "No, Klaus. You are redeeming yourself. You confronted your past, your demons, your stepfather. You are doing this. And I can't even begin to imagine how hard that fight must be."

"It is not. Not anymore. For the first time in my life, that particular fight is beginning to be bearable. I will never win it completely, Caroline, you need to be very clear about that. What happened will always haunt me to an extent. But I will never stop trying to fight it down."

Closing her eyes at the deep, burning emotions that coursed through her, she whispered, "I know. And I love that fighter as I love everything else about you, Klaus."

He just kissed her and pressed her to him so fiercely it was almost painful.

When they returned to the house, Silv was just stowing a box in Elijah's car. "Why don't we celebrate tonight? You, me, Elena, the Salvatores and this obnoxious Original family we married into?"

Klaus groaned and cast a desperate glance at Elijah who was just coming out of the house, looking equally annoyed at Silv's cheerful words.

"Caroline's first evening at her new home, and you want to have Damon Salvatore getting on my nerves until I will be forced to throw him into a wall?" Klaus demanded irritably.

Caroline snickered. "Oh come on, Caligula! As if you didn't secretly love the guy! He is kind of a younger version of you!"

With a look of complete horror on his face, Klaus folded his arms over his chest. "I just changed my mind. I don't want you to move in with me after all."

Caroline and Silv giggled, whereas Elijah patted his brother's shoulder sympathetically. "I was not aware the otherwise perfectly charming Miss Forbes – pardon, I meant Mrs. Mikaelson – had a penchant for verbal abuse. My heart does go out to you, brother," he said with an appalled undertone, sending the women into more giggles. "Nevertheless, I do concur with Silv that celebration is in order to properly welcome the two newest members to our household, and I am certain Rebekah will heartily agree."

"Please, Klaus! I am sure Elena and Stefan will see to it that Damon will be on his best behaviour!" Caroline exclaimed. It would be a wonderful way to start her life at her new home – surrounded by her friends and her new family.

Klaus knew he was outnumbered, which wouldn't usually keep him from having his way, but Caroline's pleading eyes were all it took for him to grudgingly give in. He had been looking forward to having his beautiful wife all to himself on their first evening, but there was plenty of time after all. Still, he was Klaus – he wouldn't go down without a fight.

"But that is the issue, my love. Even Damon's best behaviour still makes me want to send his sorry backside to hell."

"What has he done now?" Elena's annoyed voice sounded from the porch where she stood carrying an armful of dresses.

"We want to celebrate at the mansion tonight, together with you and the boys, but Caligula here thinks Damon won't make it through the hors d'œuvres without getting himself killed at least twice."

"Hors d'œuvres? It will only be due to my rigid self-control and unyielding willpower that I might – just might – be able to refrain from staking him the moment he sets foot in my house!" Klaus sneered, but there was no real force behind his words.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him. "You know, Klaus, I always had the feeling that you rather liked Damon because he is… oh God, I can't believe I'm saying this… he is you at times!" Caroline and Silv looked at each other, then at Klaus' shell shocked expression and finally at Elijah, who was desperately trying to keep a straight face – and they went into complete hysterics.

"You," Klaus pointed an accusing finger at Caroline, "your first night at your new home will be spent on the couch."

Elijah looked at Silv who was attempting to bring her laughter under control and failing miserably. "What do you think, my lovely? Shall we make a little wager?"

"What's the point?" Silv chuckled delightedly. "We'd both be betting on Caroline, would we not?"

There was a slight hint of mischief in Elijah's eyes when he replied, "Oh, I did not want to wager on IF. I was planning to wager on WHEN."

Silv grinned from ear to ear. "You're on." She looked at Caroline appraisingly, then turned her gaze back to her man. "He will make it through main course, but barely."

Elijah chuckled at Klaus' black scowl. He knew that his younger brother was secretly enjoying the banter, the feeling of family and friendship he had missed for so long. They all had. For a short moment, Elijah reveled in the feeling of gratefulness for the more peaceful times that hopefully lay ahead of them all. He focused his attention on Klaus. "No. Niklaus is very stubborn. He will see the entire evening through. And then he will go down with flying colours," he predicted with an ominous voice.

"What are the stakes?" Silv asked, a gleam in her eyes. Elijah just looked at her very intently, saying nothing, and Caroline swore she saw Silv blush the faintest bit. Her suspicions were confirmed when the brunette turned to her and said urgently, "You better pull out all the stops, lady!"

It was early evening when all of Caroline's belongings were finally at the mansion. Klaus had cleared a considerable amount of space in his walk-in closet, mumbling something about how they would need to tear down the wall and convert the adjacent guest room into a dressing room at some point, what with all her clothes.

Caroline sat down on what was now their bed and looked around the room. Despite the fact that there was nothing she would ever want more than to be with Klaus until all time ended, it felt a little strange to think that this was now her home. She had always lived in the same house, for all of her life, and it would take some getting used to. She didn't want to admit it to anyone, but she was a little nervous about how she would manage. As usual though, she couldn't hide her feelings from Klaus.

He knelt on the floor before her, resting between her legs and pulling her to the edge of the bed, wrapping his arms around her.

"You are a little overwhelmed, are you not, my sweet little one?" he asked softly, his hands stroking gentle patterns on her back.

She nodded, embarrassment plain on her face. "Sorry, Klaus. Please don't get me wrong – I'm absolutely ecstatic to be here. To start my life with you. This has nothing to do with my feelings for you or anything of the sort. It's just… I've never lived anywhere but in my childhood home, and I will need some time to adapt to the new surroundings, even if I've already been staying here for weeks. This is different, and it makes me a little nervous. I'm sorry."

"Will you stop apologizing? Caroline, this is a perfectly normal reaction. Unfortunately, I cannot relate to it the way you would probably need me to, as I have never experienced anything remotely similar, but the first and foremost thing I want you to be is happy. Whatever it is you need, tell me. I will do anything in my power to make you feel more at ease. However much time you require, whatever it takes – just name it, my love."

Seemingly out of nowhere, he produced a single, long-stemmed white rose. He held it out to her and smiled, a deep joy glowing on his beautiful face.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Mikaelson."

Ugh. Melt. Swoon. Sigh.

"Thank you," Caroline whispered almost shyly. "It is really lovely." She inhaled the subdued fragrance and softly caressed his cheek. "Klaus… will you just hold me for a while?"

He took the rose from her and scooped her up into his arms, walking around the ludicrously large bed and lowering her onto the mattress. He slipped onto the bed next to her, pulling her very close until he was almost hovering over her so she could curl into the little cave beneath his chest. Caroline immediately hid her face in the curve of his shoulder, while he kissed her hair and began to soothingly run his hands over her back, her neck and her shoulders. Like the day he had held her after she had first met the warlock, there was nothing seductive in his embrace. He was comforting her, keeping her warm and just being there for her. She loved him all the more for it.

"Caroline," he whispered after a very long while.

"Yes?" she murmured, blissfully shrouded in his scent and the incomparable feeling of his body protecting hers.

"I released the Hybrids from the sire bond. All of them."

Her head jerked up as she faced him. His expression was serene, calm and peaceful. "Why did you do that?" she whispered. His Hybrids had been the one thing he had been working towards for a thousand years, and now he was giving them up? Just like that?

"One of my numerous lesser character traits. I don't have the time or the inclination to busy myself with them anymore. They are no longer necessary to me. And when I get bored of a toy, it gets thrown out."

"But you didn't kill them."

"Why would I? They have done nothing to cross me, and contrary to what everyone seems to believe, I do not kill for the sake of killing. Well, most of the time. I have admittedly had lapses over the centuries."

She rolled her eyes at that. "So they are free to do whatever they choose?" she demanded, still surprised at the news.

"Almost."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He chuckled. "I may currently be in a magnanimous mood, my love, but I am still no fool. I compelled each and every one of them to never initiate or partake in any activities against my family members and myself, and to immediately report to me if they are ever made aware of any such plots."

Caroline couldn't bring herself to find any fault in that. He had freed them. And he was a protector, which was one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place. He would always do what was needed in order to keep the family safe.

"Caroline, there will be other fights, other problems, new enemies. Don't ever delude yourself into believing otherwise. This family has been around for too long and is way too powerful not to draw attention and attract adversaries. And I will fight these battles as I always have. I will protect you and the rest of my family." He paused briefly to kiss her hair, then he looked at her very earnestly. "I have finally, finally found my home."

She snuggled back into the little space under his chest. No matter what happened, no matter where they were and what they did or who would come at them – they would always be each other's home.