A/N: Hi all! I am back with another chapter, a little earlier than usual for me. All of your reviews from the last chapter really motivated me!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Klaus!" the sound of Marcel's voice shouting after him startled him awake.

He opened his eyes and peered up at the exposed beams of the ceiling in their studio staring down at him.

Marcel appeared in the doorway to the front of the studio, a tray with two coffees in hand. The aroma of the hot drinks lured him upright on the sofa he had fallen asleep on the night before.

"Cute boxers," Marcel teased, referring to the fact that he was dressed in nothing but his boxer shorts.

He scowled as he sat up. "Fuck off, mate."

"I figured you might be here," Marcel sighed, approaching the sofa, handing him one of the coffees from the tray. "You never did make it back to the hotel."

He had spent many nights here since returning from Mystic Falls – it had been like old times, before he had left. It was not unusual for him to crash here after working late – too tired to return to his apartment. It was not unusual for him to crash here after late nights out either for much the same reason.

"Good guess," he responded to Marcel's comment before sipping from the hot drink carefully.

"You look rough," Marcel pointed out.

"I feel rough," he acknowledged, feeling the familiar trappings of a hangover looming over him like a shadow.

Marcel paused for a moment, clearly debating about whether or not to delve into the events of the night before. He could tell by the short way Marcel was speaking with him that he was not impressed.

"I'm confused," Marcel confessed with a shrug.

It was his turn to feel confused, as he gave Marcel a questioning look.

"For someone who claims to be in love with Caroline, you sure have a funny way of showing it – maybe you could explain how a threesome with two other women fits in with your feelings for her?" he wondered, sarcastically.

Marcel had never been one to judge him for his lifestyle – they had both indulged their fair share of women in the past. But, Marcel obviously felt differently this time around.

"I hope it was worth it. If assaulting Damon Salvatore in a strip club doesn't do it, I am pretty sure the threesome will be the nail in the coffin of your relationship with Caroline," Marcel concluded simply.

He rubbed his tender knuckles lightly, recalling the blow he had dealt Damon the night previous. Damon had deserved it and then some. He had no regrets.

"I didn't sleep with them," he denied. "I was going to," he readily admitted, recalling how he had blown off Marcel's attempt to get him to leave the bar and return to the hotel with him. "But, I left the bar shortly after you did…alone," he emphasized.

Marcel looked surprised, but relieved at the same time.

"What changed your mind?" Marcel questioned after having failed to convince him to leave the bar before he did something he would regret.

"I think I caused enough trouble for one night," he shrugged.

"And me telling you that wasn't enough?" Marcel wondered, clearly annoyed by his stubbornness and that his own efforts had failed.

"Caroline called me," he revealed finally. "I was taking Genevieve's number…and I noticed the missed call."

Marcel's eyebrows rose curiously. "Speak of the dev…or guardian angel?" he scoffed with amusement.

"She called earlier and left a voicemail. I don't know how I missed the notification," he admitted.

"What did she say?" Marcel asked with intrigue as he began to drink his own coffee.

"She wanted to tell me how Court had gone yesterday, but she forgot that I was probably out for Stefan's bachelor party by the time she called," he explained, recalling the sinking feeling he felt knowing that he had missed her call after having made several attempts to call and text her earlier that day. "I left the bar to call her back, but I remembered how late it was and decided against it. I ended up here instead of the hotel. I didn't want to run into Damon this morning."

Marcel seemed pleased with the surprise turn of events that he hadn't expected when he had given up and left him at the bar earlier the night before.

"You need to call her back right now, Klaus," Marcel urged him.

He was taken aback by Marcel's sense of urgency.

"We both know you're crazy about this girl. She reached out despite you bailing on her yesterday. The ball is in your court now. If you want to get her back, your first step is to call her, and hope to God Kol didn't say anything to her girl Bonnie about your confrontation with Damon last night," Marcel elaborated.

He frowned. If Bonnie knew what had happened with Damon she would surely tell Caroline. While he suspected Caroline wouldn't have blamed him for punching Damon in the face after how Damon had treated her, he also knew she wouldn't be impressed.

"I already told Kol to keep his mouth shut, and Stefan and Damon's own ego seem to have Damon taken care of," Marcel assured him.

He reached for his phone and stared at it reluctantly.

"Call her back now," Marcel pushed. "You need to swallow your pride, stop being so stubborn, and reach out to her. Apologize for not being there, and DON'T offer any excuses, just say you're sorry."

It annoyed him how Marcel was always right.

"This isn't going to happen overnight. It's one step," Marcel reminded him. "I'll give you some space," he added before disappearing to the front of the studio.

She stared up at Elena's bedroom ceiling frustratingly.

It was mid morning. She had already been up half the night and early that morning with Grayson, who had been quite fussy and unable to sleep. He didn't seem to be sick, but she suspected it might be the development of more teeth irritating him.

With Grayson down for a much needed, but now unusual, morning nap, she had returned to bed hoping to do the same.

Her stinging eyes were begging her for it, but she had had no such luck falling back to sleep – too preoccupied about all that was on her 'to do' list for that Saturday.

In hopes that she might lure herself back to sleep by taking her mind off of it, she had found herself caressing herself over her shirt before slipping one hand under her pyjama shorts and between her legs.

She had closed her eyes, letting her mind indulge in the rare opportunity to set upon her own self pleasure – the only kind that had been available to her lately. Her free hand wandered, slipping under her shirt to tease her nipples, while the hand between her thighs caressed her folds gently underneath her shorts.

At first her mind had been blank, solely focused upon the feeling of her own touch, but as she allowed herself to indulge in the feeling more deeply, her mind had betrayed her, projecting images of Klaus between her legs instead of her hand.

She hated that he still had such power of her despite the falling out they had and how eager she was to move forward and forget about their brief relationship.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face looking back at her – his devilish grin peering up at her from between her legs as he devoured her.

To force herself to take her mind off of him she resorted to relying upon the adult content on her phone to bring her over the edge. She found herself watching two girls on the screen – the furthest thing away from Klaus, she thought. Though not particularly interested in women herself, she preferred it to the more misogynistic flavour of heterosexual porn.

Even then, her mind turned to Klaus.

Before they had crossed the line in their platonic relationship once more, she recalled showing Klaus an article on her phone, something related to Grayson's development. His eyes had lit up with intrigue as he peered down at the screen and she gave him a look of confusion, his reaction not what she had expected.

"I am pretty sure Grayson won't need this until he's a teenager, but perhaps I could put it to use in the meantime," Klaus snorted amusedly.

She snatched her phone back hastily; her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment as she gazed down at her phone screen and realized she had forgotten to close one of her browser windows from the night before.

"So, now I know what you're up to when you say you're going to sleep early and pawn all of the Grayson duties off onto me," he concluded deviously. "I never took you for a girl who liked to watch porn, let alone one involving two buxom brunettes and a very pink strap on," he teased her. "You continue to surprise me."

"Shut up," she had replied weakly, knowing there was no excuse she could come up with to deny it, and knowing there had been a part of her who was excited by his interest. "I'm sure you have plenty of porn saved on your phone," she shot back defensively, pointing out the hypocrisy in his apparent judgment of her.

"There's nothing wrong with it," he had shrugged indifferently. "Though I do hide mine much more discreetly, love," he mused. "It's saved under 'recipes' if you must know," he smirked before erupting into laughter.

It was hard for her to keep a serious expression and she found herself laughing alongside him.

Later, after they were too far gone from that line to go back, she recalled how they had watched porn together on an occasion or two at her suggestion – still excited about the time he had inadvertently stumbled upon her viewing pleasures. He had touched her while they watched, narrating in his delicious accent, the different fantasies he had involving her and the women on screen until she was writhing against him.

The replay in her mind was enough to excite her, despite her frustration. The last person she wanted to think about right now was Klaus. She needed to move on.

She tried to concentrate on the video playing out on her phone and the feeling of her hands taunting the erogenous spots on her body.

It started to work. She could feel her body succumbing to the baser desires that her fingertips released, her mind completely focused upon the feeling and the two girls on screen experiencing the same pleasure as she was.

That's when her phone began to sound annoyingly.

Her eyes shot open in frustration, gazing down at the screen, the pornographic images now replaced by the incoming call screen – an image of Klaus and Grayson at the centre – indicating it was Klaus who was calling.

She groaned under her breath bitterly. Speak of the devil, she thought.

Taking her time, she sat up, sliding her legs off the edge of the bed, allowing her mind to snap out of her pleasurable haze before answering Klaus's phone call.

"Hello?" she answered, trying to mask how annoyed she felt.

"Hi," he greeted awkwardly, refraining from inserting one of his usual pet names for her. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.

"Hello," she repeated, sounding out of breath.

"Are you alright? I hope I'm not interrupting you?" he asked. "It sounds like you are in the middle of something…chasing after Grayson perhaps?"

"I'm fine," she said readily. "Grayson is napping. I had to run to grab my phone," she explained.

"Grayson is still sleeping?" he wondered. It was not like Grayson to sleep so late into the morning.

"He was up much of the night…too fussy to sleep. I think he's getting a few more teeth in," she explained to him.

He sighed guiltily, knowing that she had likely been up most of the night herself to take care of Grayson and he hadn't been there to help her.

"You must be tired?" he suggested sympathetically.

"I am hanging in there," she replied.

"Maybe he's coming down with something?" he suggested, concerned that it might be more serious than just new teeth.

"I am keeping an eye on him. He doesn't seem to have any signs of illness…no fever, no diarrhea…he still has his usual appetite," she explained.

He relaxed against the sofa as he considered what to say next.

"How was last night?" she asked curiously. "Did Stefan have fun on his last night as a bachelor?" she wondered.

"I think he enjoyed himself," he said cautiously, waiting to see if she would ask him about his confrontation with Damon.

"I'm sorry I missed your calls and your texts yesterday. It was a busy day. When I did get a chance to call you back I realized that you were probably already out for Stefan's bachelor party," Caroline explained apologetically.

He had assumed that she was avoiding him out of anger, but he would take her explanation at face value.

"It's okay. Had I known you were up with Grayson, I suppose I could have called you back at the end of the night," he commented.

More silence filled their conversation.

He thought back to Marcel's earlier advice.

"Look, I'm sorry I wasn't at Court yesterday. I know I should have been," he apologized, stopping short of offering his work as an excuse, even if he thought it was a good one. "Stefan filled me in on the details of what happened, and how my parents were their awful selves," he noted, sparing her from having to rehash the events of yesterday.

Caroline was quiet on the other end, likely surprised by his genuine apology.

"I know you were working," she acknowledged.

"I should have planned better," he admitted.

"If Stefan knew you weren't going to make it sooner, he could have sought permission from the Court to have you present via teleconference," she pointed out, revealing that she had been annoyed with him, as he suspected, and as he deserved.

"I know. I'm sorry," he repeated. "I will be there for the Settlement Conference. I plan to return before then in any case for Grayson's birthday and Stefan and Meredith's wedding reception after their European elopement," he explained.

Caroline sighed. It sounded like relief but he couldn't be sure. He didn't want to ask in case it was a further expression of her annoyance with him. Maybe she'd rather he didn't return.

"That's good," she said finally, sounding as though she was biting her tongue and holding back from all the things she wanted to say to him. "Grayson misses you. He will be so happy to see you. I would put him on video chat if he wasn't sleeping," she said regretfully.

"It's alright," he assured her, not wanting her to wake Grayson for his sake. "I don't want to disturb him if he's feeling under the weather. I'm looking forward to seeing him. I miss him."

Truthfully, he missed her too. Next to Grayson, he missed her more than anything. His chest felt heavy as he thought about it. He wanted to tell her, but he hesitated. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. She was the one who had ended it between them this time around.

"How are things in New York?" she wondered, her query and concern taking him by surprise.

Perhaps she was simply making small talk.

"Quite busy, I'm practically living at the studio," he said simply. He didn't want to go into too much detail lest he sound like he was bragging or too preoccupied to concern himself with her and Grayson.

"You must be doing well, I saw the money you put into Grayson's account," she mentioned. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that," she said sincerely.

He shook his head, though she couldn't see him through her phone.

"Yes I do," he affirmed. "All of this is for Grayson," he said, reminding her of the sacrifices he had made to stay in New York and earn more money for Grayson's support.

He had sacrificed seeing Grayson every day like he had grown used to. He had sacrificed his relationship with her – albeit unexpectedly.

"Well, it's not unnoticed," she said appreciatively.

It was reassuring that his efforts in New York were not a waste of time – that she had recognized, on some small level, that he hadn't bailed on the court date for his own selfish motives.

"I trust you will use it for whatever he needs," he said confidently, not worried that Caroline would take advantage of him in any way. "I figure anything that's left you can put towards things for his party. I know you want to make it special," he said, knowing that Caroline was more than excited to plan Grayson's first birthday party. She had already decided that it would be a carnival theme.

"I've already bought too many decorations," she mused, her mind briefly taken away from the reality of their situation as she began to talk about her many ideas for the party as though there had never been a nagging metaphorical – and literal – distance between them.

She was about to continue when she was interrupted by the doorbell.

"Ugh. Just a second," she said to him as he heard her moving towards the front door. "I hope that doesn't wake Grayson up," she complained to him, referring to the noise of the doorbell.

He listened curiously as she answered the door.

"Hey Caroline," a friendly but masculine voice said to her once she answered the door.

His chest tightened at the sound of the male voice.

"Hi Matt, sorry, I'm just on the phone. Do you mind waiting for a second. I'll be right out?" Caroline said to him.

Matt apologized to Caroline for interrupting and agreed to wait outside for her so she could finish up her call with him.

He recognized Matt as the owner of the Grill, Vicki's brother, and whom Caroline had hired to do some odd jobs around Elijah and Elena's house to get it ready for sale. Matt's presence made him feel uneasy. The house did need the work done, and he knew that Caroline couldn't do it all on her own, but for some reason, he felt uncomfortable. Perhaps it was jealousy…jealousy over Caroline, anger that he wasn't there to help her. He felt like he was being replaced.

"Hi, sorry, Matt is here," Caroline explained to him as she came back on the phone. "He's probably looking for his cheque. I was supposed to pay him yesterday," she said, clearly apprehensive about the expense.

"It's okay, Caroline. It needs to be done," he tried to reassure her, despite his feelings towards Matt.

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed. "Anyways, I should go talk to Matt. Maybe we can video chat later when Grayson is awake?" she suggested.

"Okay sure," he sighed, disappointed by the turn their conversation had taken and the interruption that had caused it.

"Okay," she replied, her pause afterwards suggesting that she had sensed a shift in the tone of their exchange. "Talk to you later," she finished, before disconnecting their call.

He stared at his phone screen blankly, feeling defeated.

She glanced briefly down at her phone after she ended the call with Klaus that had been interrupted by Matt's unexpected appearance at her front door. Things between her and Klaus were unsteady, to say the least, and their interrupted conversation left her feeling unsettled.

With a sigh, she opened the front door to find Matt walking back from his truck, obviously having loaded some of his materials while he waited for her to finish up her conversation with Klaus.

"Sorry about that," she apologized again.

He smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry. I'm the one who showed up unannounced. I just wanted to pick up my tools and things that I left behind yesterday, but I wanted to give you the heads up so I didn't startle you when you heard someone out on your front porch," he laughed.

She chuckled alongside him, imagining that she would have been alarmed had he not decided to come to the door to let her know that he was there.

"Well, I'm just gonna finish loading up my truck and I'll be on my way," Matt explained.

She knew she had to cut him a cheque for the money she owed and she didn't want to leave it any longer – she hated owing money.

"Hey, do you want to come inside?" she found herself offering. "I was going to make some lunch and I need to write you your cheque. Would you like to have lunch with me? As a thank you?" she clarified.

It was just lunch, she thought. It's not even like they were going out somewhere to eat, so it couldn't even be construed as a date – could it? It was just a friendly gesture. Matt had done a lot of work for her around the house at a severely reduced rate, she knew. The least she could do to thank him was finally pay him for his work and provide him with lunch.

Matt looked around for a moment, perhaps contemplating what her offer meant.

"If you have to be somewhere, it's okay. I'll just get you your cheque," she backtracked, trying to avoid any personal discomfort and embarrassment if he declined.

"I'm actually starving," he informed her. "Lunch would be great," he admitted gratefully.

She smiled and held the door open for him, inviting him inside.

"I should warn you, my lunch menu is nothing special – sandwiches for the adults and soft fruit and yogurt for the babies…well baby," she commented. "I won't try to compete with the Grill's lunch menu," she joked.

"I like simple," Matt assured her as he followed her back to the kitchen.

She went for the fridge to begin rummaging for the ingredients she wanted – lots of veggies, meat, and cheese.

"Can I help? I usually leave the food side of things at the Grill to the cooks, but I am sure I can figure out a sandwich," Matt offered.

She laughed and shook her head.

"No, it's okay, but help yourself to a drink from the fridge if you would like," she said, motioning to some clean glasses on the counter that she had yet to put away.

She placed the lunch ingredients on the kitchen island to begin preparing them as Matt retrieved them both glasses of water from the fridge water dispenser.

It was then that she realized how truly messy the kitchen and the family room were. She had been distracted by something earlier – probably Grayson – and had neglected to put the rest of the dishes away. Various items belonging to Grayson were scattered around – some toys on the table, his diaper bag hanging on the chair. She cringed.

"I should have tidied up before I let you in," she sighed, knowing it was too late now. "You don't realize how messy things are until you have guests."

"I'm not judging you. My place probably looks worse than this and I don't even have a good excuse. You have a baby to take care of," he said sympathetically as he set a glass of water down beside her. "Where is Grayson, anyways?" he wondered.

She looked up to the ceiling.

"He's catching up on some of the sleep he missed out on last night. I think he's sprouting some more teeth, so he was not a happy camper last night," she sighed, she herself still feeling the remnants of exhaustion behind her eyes. "I'll get him up soon for his lunch. I really don't want him to sleep all day and then be up all night again – I need sleep," she complained.

"You must have been really close to Grayson's parents," Matt said sincerely, leaning against the counter in front of her. "This was a big change for you – a big commitment."

"Well, I wasn't expecting to be named as one of Grayson's guardians – that was a bit of a surprise – but I can't imagine trusting anyone else to do the job and being on the sidelines. Elena and I will always be best friends. I have to live up to that," she said simply, knowing that if the roles were reversed, Elena would have stepped right in to take care of her family.

She turned to the cupboard behind her to reach for plates.

"At least you and Klaus can lean on one another," Matt pointed out, obviously unaware of the latest town gossip about her relationship with Klaus.

"I suppose," she said with a flat tone. Feeling caught off guard, she turned back slowly and lowered the plates onto the counter.

"Uhm," Matt commented quickly. "I get the feeling I hit a touchy subject. We don't need to talk about it. I'm sorry."

She shook her head dismissively, distracting herself by putting the sandwiches together.

"We're not together anymore," she revealed, her heart still clenching as tightly and stinging as it had when she had first revealed the news to those she was closer to.

Bonnie had called her first, sensing that something was wrong when she hadn't texted her the evening she returned to Mystic Falls with Grayson, but without Klaus. She could barely mutter out a 'hello' to her friend before she had erupted into tears. Bonnie was not surprised about what had happened between her and Klaus after the meal they had all shared in New York, but Bonnie had taken a more balanced approach to what had happened than she had expected her to. While Bonnie thought Klaus was being a selfish and insensitive prick for waiting until the last minute to reveal his change of plans on the one hand, she also wasn't opposed to his suggestion about relocating to New York – something Bonnie had encouraged her to do in the past on more than one occasion.

Her red and swollen eyes couldn't keep what had happened from Camille and April when she appeared at work the day after her return. They were excited by the prospect of her opportunity with the designer, Ariella, but reservedly so with the uncertain impact that would have on their jobs working for her in Mystic Falls. They were disappointed by the fate of her relationship with Klaus – Camille and April having already previously planned out her entire wedding to Klaus as they worked alongside her, convinced that he would be the one.

Rebekah had kept her distance, obviously wanting to remain neutral as Klaus was her brother. But, it was obvious, however, that when she and Grayson video-chatted with her and the subject was broached, that Rebekah was not impressed with how her brother had handled things – particularly where Grayson was concerned.

It was times like these when she wished she still had Elena to lean on as well – though she knew if Elena was here, she probably wouldn't have been in this circumstance with Klaus in the first place.

Turning from her thoughts back to Matt, she could tell he was surprised.

"Oh," he said lowly. "I recall you saying that he was in New York, but I assumed it was for his work. I didn't realize things weren't working out between the two of you."

"It's okay," she assured him, thought she knew she felt differently.

He nodded politely, though she knew the question that was coming.

"What about Grayson?" he asked curiously.

"We are both still committed to Grayson, there's no question about that," she explained quickly, knowing that was the truth, even if she had her doubts about Klaus at times, and even though this new version of committed deviated from their original plan. "Just not to each other romantically," she concluded bluntly – a little too bluntly, if she was being honest with herself.

"At least you can both continue to focus on Grayson," Matt acknowledged. "Maybe things will happen for you and Klaus in the end? You've been through a lot together," he commented – perhaps trying to be optimistic for her while also sussing out whether she and Klaus were truly over.

She shrugged, feeling more pessimistic than Matt about the future of her relationship with Klaus. This had already happened once before – she wasn't sure she would ever want to take a third chance with him.

"I think Klaus and I got caught up in the circumstances we were dropped into. We want different things; we are two very different people, from very different worlds," she summarized for him, though not entirely convinced by the explanation she had provided to him.

"Maybe," Matt agreed tentatively. "I was a bit surprised by your relationship after Klaus's brief history with my sister," he explained, referring to Vicki. "But, he did seem different with you whenever you guys were at the Grill," he finished.

Obviously not different enough, she thought to herself.

She paused – not sure what to say in response to Matt's comments. It was both awkward discussing her personal life with him and liberating as he was someone who was more removed from her life.

In that moment, before she could continue further, she grew self conscious. She didn't want to over share with Matt. She invited him to have lunch, not a therapy session.

Turning her attention back to the sandwiches she had forgotten about, she finished preparing them.

"I didn't mean to bore you with my relationship woes," she apologized. "We should probably eat these," she mused, pushing one plate towards Matt.

"Don't worry about it," he assured her as he nodded to thank her for the lunch. "I was kind of in a similar situation as you and Klaus before I moved out here to Mystic Falls with my sister and bought the Grill," Matt began cryptically. "Minus the baby," he chuckled to himself.

She laughed lightly.

"What happened?" she asked, encouraging him to explain as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"We wanted different things…from very different worlds," he proceeded, repeating what she had told him. "I wanted the small town life. I wanted to stay in Virginia. We were planning to move here from Richmond together, buy the Grill and make a go of it."

"…And she didn't want to take a chance?" she assumed, filling in the blank for Matt before he could respond. She was quite familiar with this narrative, having been there herself.

Matt responded with a small amused grin as he swallowed his food.

"He wanted to move out to the West Coast. It was me who didn't want to take the chance," Matt confirmed her prediction, albeit with a few slight twists she wasn't expecting.

He was gay – or at least interested in men. She cursed herself for incorrectly assuming he had been referring to a she.

"I'm sorry. I – I didn't realize…"

- "Realize I was gay?" Matt chuckled. "It's okay. I'm used to it. Most people don't realize it unless I mention it."

"I shouldn't have assumed he was a she. I'm sorry," she apologized once more, knowing she had to make a better effort to avoid resorting to being straight as a default, particularly where people was not familiar with were concerned.

She felt like an idiot for thinking that he was even remotely interested in her romantically.

Matt shrugged.

"My parents would probably prefer to assume he was a she," he joked, though she could tell that he resented the strained relationship he alluded to with his parents.

"What happened between you and him?" she questioned, genuinely curious to know more about his past relationship. "…If you don't mind me asking."

There was a moment of silence as Matt contemplated his response.

"He wanted more for us, I think. He's a bit of a dreamer. He saw us somewhere in California running an exclusive restaurant – he is an amazing chef," Matt explained.

Knowing his previous boyfriend was an 'amazing' chef suddenly made her feel embarrassed by the simple lunch she had made.

"He thought the west coast would be more welcoming – we could escape the scrutiny of our extended families and the people we grew up with here," he paused, taking a long sip of his water. "Despite the judgment, I preferred things here. I just couldn't see what he saw. In hindsight, I probably didn't give him much of an opportunity to help me see what he envisioned," he sighed.

"Where is he now?" she wondered, hoping she wasn't being too nosey.

"He went out to California, and the last time I heard through mutual friends, he's a personal chef for some rich Hollywood-type and he's engaged," he informed her.

She frowned, feeling sad that his relationship didn't work out, perhaps feeling sad at the thought of Klaus moving on from her someday like Matt's ex had.

"Do you have any regrets?" she wondered, hoping his answer would give her some reassurance for her own future.

Matt shrugged.

"Sometimes – I think about how different my life would be. It's lonely here – which is why I dragged my sister here with me, I guess. It shouldn't have been a surprise for me to discover that Mystic Falls has a disproportionate amount of straight men – that's worked out well for my sister, but not so much for me," he chuckled, making fun of his sister's promiscuity.

She couldn't help but laugh, even though she felt bad for him.

"You aren't missing anything – the straight ones aren't that great either," she replied, recalling her previous history with the men of Mystic Falls – or lack thereof – before her second round with Klaus.

Matt raised his water glass towards hers in humorous solidarity with her.

It was then that she had an idea to try and help Matt out.

"My friends, Stefan and Meredith, are hosting their wedding party at the Grill in a few weeks after they return from their elopement in Europe – there may be some out-of-town options for both of us there?" she proposed – always better at encouraging the relationships of others than her own.

Matt appeared hesitant, but intrigued, nonetheless.

"I know you'll technically be 'on the job' that night," she acknowledged. "But, I'm sure you can browse while you work?" she suggested enthusiastically.

He smirked.

"I suppose I could multi-task," he agreed.

A/N: So... what did you think?!

I apologize about the lack of direct Klaroline interaction and smut - I tried to ease that with the phone call and the little glimpses of smut from past "deleted" scenes.

I hope you all can rest easy about Matt and Caroline's relationship now.

Ideally, I would like to have this story coming to an end by Chapter 50 - so the end is on the horizon, provided I can continue to find the time and the inspiration to update. Your reviews and enthusiasm really help in that regard! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas and your patience! :)

In the next chapter, Klaus will be making his return to Mystic Falls...