A/N: Wow, thanks everyone for all of the sweet and thoughtful reviews for the last chapter! I am going to miss you guys!
As I am sure you can tell by the length of these final chapters that this story is coming to a close. I enjoyed writing this next chapter – it's a bit more lighthearted than the last. I think you deserve it after all of the angst and drama I have put you through with the last few chapters, though I can't promise no drama and angst in this chapter as well! ;)
Enjoy! : )
"Come on, Mom! We're gonna be late!" Grayson complained exasperatedly as he led her by the hand down the expansive park path the sun shining through his wisps of brown hair.
He needed a haircut, but Klaus encouraged him to keep his hair long, and lately, everything that Klaus said was like gospel to Grayson.
"Slow down, Monkey," she urged, digging the backs of her heels into the pavement slightly to slow him down as she dragged his wheeled Pokémon suitcase behind them.
Grayson wanted her to let him go, insisting that he was old enough to walk without holding her hand. While that may have been true in Mystic Falls, it was not true for New York City.
She was worried that she would lose Grayson in the crowd and she refused to release his hand from her own, regardless of how much he protested.
Stomping his red Converse shoes in protest, he huffed in frustration, but fell back beside her obediently, his hand still holding hers.
She smiled down at him sympathetically, knowing how excited was to be here.
Grayson couldn't sleep the night before, waking up seemingly every hour to ask her if it was time to wake up yet - even before she had gone to sleep herself, having stayed up late that night to ensure their things were all packed for the trip. He was also her human alarm clock that morning, waking her up a half hour early to ensure they would not miss their morning flight. It was like Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.
"I haven't seen Dad since Spring Break," Grayson reminded her.
She frowned guiltily, knowing that was true, and knowing how badly Grayson had missed Klaus.
This was the first full summer Grayson was going to be spending in New York with Klaus. She was terrified and Grayson was thrilled.
In previous years, Klaus had spent a portion of the summer in Mystic Falls, returning to New York with Grayson for a week or two, and then travelling back to Mystic Falls to ensure Grayson was returned safely for the beginning of the school year and his birthday.
This year, Grayson had decided that he was old enough to spend the entire summer away from her. While she had been somewhat reluctant to let him go, Klaus had been more than supportive. Being outvoted and knowing how much it meant to the two of them, she agreed to the summer.
While Grayson thought that she was simply here for a day to accompany him on the trip, she and Klaus decided it would be a good idea to stay over the weekend to ensure that Grayson adjusted well, knowing that he would be separated her for the entire summer. She would visit with Bonnie and Kol while Grayson believed she had returned to Mystic Falls. Truthfully, her extended stay was as much for her as it was for Grayson.
"I know, Gray," she acknowledged, reassured by his excitement. "We're early," she told him. "He said they would be here at one o'clock."
"What time is it?" Grayson asked.
She glanced down at the gold analogue watch on her wrist that had belonged to her mother and her grandmother before that.
"You tell me," she said, encouraging him to tell time on his own.
He paused for a moment, glancing down at his own Batman analogue watch.
"I think it's twelve-fifty," he answered.
"You're right," she replied proudly, amazed by how smart he was when it came to anything numbers-related, something he must have inherited from Elijah and Elena, she thought, knowing that she and Klaus were not responsible for his interest in numbers.
As they continued to walk, taking in the scenery of Central Park, Grayson fell quiet and she could tell that he was deep in thought about something.
"You okay, Gray?" She queried, hoping he wasn't having second thoughts about his summer with Klaus.
"Mom?" Grayson asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?" she responded.
"I know that you're my mom and Elena is my mom too," Grayson started. "But, since Dad is getting married to Cara soon does that mean Cara is my mom, too?" he wondered.
Her heart sank a little at Grayson's mention of Klaus's fiancée.
Klaus had been with Cara since last autumn and they had moved fast - a wedding at the end of August and a baby due in December.
She had met Cara only once - last Christmas – when she and Grayson had spent it in New York. That had been the first time Grayson had met her too.
Cara seemed nice enough and more beautiful than she had ever imagined Klaus's next serious romantic interest after her would be. She had curves in the right places, her emerald eyes sparkled, and her chocolate hair shone. Her makeup was perfect and her smile was bright. She shared an accent with Klaus – being from the UK. Cara was too perfect. She made her feel inadequate by comparison.
She had been quite apprehensive about how Grayson would react to Cara, but he took to her quite quickly and seemed excited by the news that Cara and Klaus were to be married and have a baby. He was most thrilled to be an older brother – it's all he talked about some days.
"She can be if that's what you want," she said to Grayson, wincing a little in an effort to suppress her own selfish and jealous feelings. Her fear of being replaced was overwhelming at times and did not make allowing Grayson to spend the whole summer in New York with Klaus any easier.
"I'd like that," Grayson admitted with a satisfied smile. "I should talk to Cara about it," he said, his foresight and maturity making her laugh under her breath, despite her own mixed feelings about Grayson's growing relationship with Klaus's future wife.
They continued to walk as Grayson fell quiet and pensive again.
"Will you get married one day too, mom?" Grayson wondered.
She shrugged. "I don't know, sweetie. If the right person comes along, I suppose, maybe?"
Grayson nodded. "Like Batman?" He giggled.
She laughed. "Maybe Bruce Wayne."
"Same thing!" Grayson corrected her.
"Less latex and more tailored suits," she pointed out, garnering a confused reaction from Grayson.
Truthfully, while her life felt full with her work and Grayson, a part of it felt empty without someone to share it with. She had a few casual relationships in the past, but they never amounted to anything serious – certainly never serious enough to make them fully a part of her life and Grayson's life.
In the distance she spotted Klaus approaching with Cara, walking together hand in hand. They were smiling and laughing at words exchanged between them. Despite how happy he seemed with Cara, and how long ago her past with Klaus had been, she still felt an uneasy sense of disappointment burn in the pit of her stomach.
"Dad!" Grayson shouted, also catching sight of Klaus and Cara.
Grayson's call caught Klaus's attention whose eyes lit up when he placed Grayson to the sound of his voice.
"Hey, mate!" Klaus said as people passed between them.
Grayson let go of her hand as he rushed towards Klaus excitedly.
She slid her empty palm along her hip as she observed Grayson close the distance between him and Klaus.
Klaus readily scooped Grayson up into his arms, obviously as elated to see Grayson as Grayson was to see him.
Cara patted Grayson's back warmly, greeting him with a kiss on the cheek.
Keeping her distance, it stung a little to see them all together as if they were one little happy family. She suddenly felt like she was intruding in on a private moment between the three of them.
Given how excited Grayson had been to see Klaus, she was surprised when she saw Klaus let him down so quickly.
Grayson walked back towards her and she made uncertain eye contact with Klaus and Cara.
"Do you want your bag, Monkey?" She asked, setting it upright beside her.
He extended his hands up towards her, his pleading eyes reminding her of Elena when her friend would ask her for a favour.
She lifted him up at his request.
"What is it?" she asked. "Aren't you excited to see your dad?"
He hugged her tightly and unexpectedly.
"I'm sad to leave you, mom," Grayson revealed.
She sighed, hugging him back, trying to suppress the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes and the anxiety she felt about leaving him with Klaus for the majority of the summer.
"You and your dad are going to have a lot of fun this summer," she told him, trying to ease the underlying nervousness he had been hiding from her, eyeing Klaus as he drew closer and within earshot of her conversation with Grayson.
Cara held back respectfully, keeping her distance, allowing her and Klaus to address Grayson's apprehension with leaving her for the summer together.
Grayson nodded confidently at her words of reassurance.
"I know, but you'll be by yourself," Grayson sighed, revealing that it was not his stay in New York with Klaus that he was worried about, but he was worried about leaving her behind. "I don't want you to be alone."
Her heart swelled as she hugged him tighter. It was comments like those that affirmed that she and Klaus appeared to be doing this parenting thing right.
She and Klaus exchanged sympathetic glances.
"I won't be alone," she told Grayson. "I'll have Nemo and Dory to keep me company," she reminded him.
"But they're fish!" Grayson protested before cuddling his head against her shoulder.
He had been begging her and Klaus for a dog since he could communicate it, but they were trying to hold off until Grayson was a little older, so fish it was for now. She was surprised they had survived as long as they had.
"So?" she laughed. "I'll also have Auntie Meredith and Uncle Stefan, Auntie Camille…" she began to list.
Klaus rubbed his back soothingly. "You know we can call or video-chat with Caroline whenever you want, mate," he added, trying to reassure him further.
Their combined effort seemed to ease Grayson's concern about leaving her behind in Mystic Falls for the summer. She could feel him relax against her chest.
"I love you, Monkey," she told him, kissing the top of his head.
"I love you more," Grayson replied with a whisper in her ear, pecking her cheek with his lips.
She dreaded the day when he would become too embarrassed by these public displays of affection – it was a matter of time now, she knew.
Grayson pulled back so she could look at him in the eye.
"Behave for your dad and Cara," she warned him, hoping she didn't receive any unflattering reports back from Klaus about Grayson. He was generally well-behaved, but like any child, he was not immune from the occasional tantrum. Lately, he enjoyed talking back to her when he was upset, and so she was sure that at some point that summer he would be testing out his future debating skills on Klaus.
"I will," Grayson said confidently, struggling against her hold so that she would take the hint and let him down.
"I'm sure he will," Klaus mused somewhat sarcastically, knowing the type of behaviour that she was foreshadowing with her warning.
She let Grayson down and he skipped past her and Klaus to see Cara who had a small gift bag in her hand for him.
"Just some sweets from the candy store he likes," Klaus explained, noting her concern about the gift.
They didn't like to spoil him with gifts if it wasn't a special occasion or something he had earned through helping them with small chores.
She nodded amusedly.
"Well, Cara will have fun dealing with Grayson when he comes down from his sugar high later," she laughed, deriving more enjoyment from that thought than she believed that she would.
Klaus chuckled. "I'm sensing some misplaced hostility?" he questioned.
"No, she's just in for a crash course in parenting this summer," she shrugged with a smirk, referring to the baby to be in December.
"Two kids will definitely be a change," Klaus said, a bit of anxiety apparent in his voice.
She smiled encouragingly. "You'll be fine," she told him sincerely, knowing that if he could pull of parenting Grayson on his own when he was here in New York then he could pull off parenting two kids with the help of Cara.
He nodded.
"Thank you for bringing Grayson and agreeing to let him stay for the summer," Klaus said appreciatively. "I've missed him."
"He's missed you too," she reassured him, knowing Klaus worried about the impact his prolonged absences had on his relationship with Grayson.
"He looks more and more like Elijah every time I see him," Klaus said amazed by how closely Grayson resembled his father.
"He's starting to talk more and more like him, too," she pointed out, alluding to Grayson's ever expanding vocabulary. "Though Elena also had a knack for words."
They both smiled as they watched Grayson from a distance, interacting with Cara who was allowing him to feel her tummy – a barely visible bump under her white tank top.
She sighed under her breath longingly.
"So, I guess we'll see you in August then?" Klaus queried hesitantly, knowing exactly what he was asking her.
"Yes," she confirmed. "Grayson wouldn't let me miss seeing him act as ring-bearer. Between that and the baby, it's all he talks about. I think he's excited to wear a suit."
At the end of summer break, she would return to New York not only to bring Grayson back to Mystic Falls, but to attend Klaus and Cara's wedding. They would also have an early celebration for Grayson's birthday, too, so that Klaus, Cara, Kol, Bonnie, and Rebekah could all be there.
"Like his father," they both said in unison.
They both laughed at their shared thought.
"It means a lot to me that you are there," Klaus admitted.
She nodded, smiling despite the urge she felt to scream.
They stood there awkwardly for a moment, as if there was something unspoken waiting to be said.
She felt herself trying to speak, but no words could come out. There was no air in her lungs and suddenly she couldn't breathe.
Her eyes shot open and she was gasping for air, glancing upwards at the ceiling and then down to the blankets strewn around her messily. Sunlight trickled in from the partially closed drapes covering the window. It was morning. She rubbed her eyes, struggling to regain her bearings from the dream she had been pulled out of as she woke in Elena's childhood bedroom – the one she had occupied as her own for the last several months.
It was a dream. It was a dream. Grayson was still a baby and Klaus was still here in Mystic Falls, not engaged and not expecting a baby with another woman. It was just a dream, she reassured herself, feeling more relieved than she expected that she would.
At some point, the video chat she had arranged for Rebekah and Grayson turned into a fashion show as she tried to decide what to wear to Meredith and Stefan's evening reception at the Mystic Grill.
Grayson was watching her curiously from the bedroom floor as she modelled a green dress through her phone's camera, which she had propped up on the dresser.
"The burgundy one," Rebekah advised her decidedly. "I'm not a fan of the green."
She turned around once more in the dress to give Rebekah a second look, still undecided between the two with only a few hours to go until the reception.
"What's Nik wearing?" Rebekah inquired.
She shrugged in uncertainty, not having spoken with Klaus at length about the topic of his outfit for the reception.
"Well, he's your date to the reception isn't he?" Rebekah confirmed.
"He's accompanying me," she clarified, wanting to make the status of her relationship with Klaus clear to his sister, despite all of Rebekah's suggestive and indirect comments.
Her response garnered an incredulous scoff from Rebekah.
"Well, you of all people should know, Caroline, that you want to coordinate with your date," Rebekah said with intentional emphasis on the last word.
"I don't know what he's wearing?" she said back, intentionally playing dumb as she grew more annoyed. In truth, she had already offered press Klaus's white dress shirt and the grey slacks he had worn to the court appearance with his jacket and tie – these being the only dressier clothes he had brought with him from New York. "I just know that it's more casual, so I think he'll be foregoing the tie."
Rebekah smirked, keeping whatever comment she had to herself, and she wasn't about to ask her, choosing instead, to ignore her.
"I still say the burgundy dress. I love the open back. It's reserved but fun and flirty at the same time," Rebekah moved on. "You should wear your hair up," she instructed.
She smiled, having been convinced by Rebekah's confident explanation for which dress she should choose to wear and how she should do her hair.
"Perhaps there will be some single men at the reception?" Rebekah hinted suggestively.
Grumbling under her breath in disgust, she stepped outside of the view of the camera to change out of the non-contender and return to the comfort of her sweats and t-shirt until she had to get ready for the reception.
"Maybe single ladies?" Rebekah queried jokingly in response to her pessimistic reaction.
"I'm not interested in anyone!" she corrected Rebekah with a chuckle as she picked up her phone and sat on the floor, leaning against the foot of the bed."I just want to have a good time."
"After the court case, you and Nik deserve to have a moment to breathe," Rebekah agreed sympathetically.
She recalled when she and Klaus delivered the news about Grayson to Rebekah after they received the Judge's decision; they had to hang up the phone because she was screaming so loud with excitement. Kol and Bonnie had reacted with similar enthusiasm, exchanging elated curse words and sighs of relief. They were all planning to reunite in New York City over the Christmas holiday to celebrate.
"Yes, before Klaus heads back to New York, and Grayson and I are on the move to my place now that the house has sold," she underscored, feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of Klaus returning to New York and having to move back to her place with Grayson by herself.
Elijah and Elena's house had sold a few days after the court case to a young family with two kids and two dogs with a closing date of October 15th – just after Klaus was scheduled to return to New York. While it wasn't ideal, the couple had offered full asking price with no other conditions and so, it was not an offer they could refuse.
"Have you started packing?" Rebekah questioned.
"I only have my clothes and a few personal belongings to pack since many of my things are still at my place. I've purged Grayson's clothes that he no longer fits and toys he's lost interest in. The couple buying the house requested that a lot of the larger furniture stay behind – and what they didn't want, we sold online," she explained.
"Did you keep anything of Elijah and Elena's?" Rebekah asked.
"I am keeping Grayson's bedroom furniture – Elena and her brother, Jeremy, both used it when they were his age. I don't really have any room at my apartment for anything else. It was more important to me to keep a variety of Elijah and Elena's personal items – photographs, jewelry, perfume, cologne, a few items of clothing, things like that," she answered.
Rebekah nodded with a sentimental sigh as her mind turned to Elijah and Elena.
"Nik said he was taking Elijah's journals?" Rebekah inquired.
She nodded.
"We decided that he will hold onto them for Grayson until he's older," she told Rebekah, glancing down at Grayson who was crawling around on the floor curiously – he hadn't made walking a consistent habit yet - thankfully.
Rebekah smiled approvingly.
"It's unfortunate that Nik has to return to New York before the closing date and won't be able to help you make the move back to your apartment," Rebekah concluded.
"He's been helping me move things over gradually. Since there won't be much furniture to move, it won't be so bad," she said, shrugging indifferently.
It would be the emotional labour of making the move from Elijah and Elena's back to her apartment alone with Grayson that would be the hard part, she thought.
"Do you think you'll stay in your apartment for a while?" Rebekah wondered.
"For now," she said decidedly. "Klaus and I have discussed getting something a little bigger for Grayson so he won't grow up confined to an apartment. It would also be nice to have an extra bedroom for when Klaus wants to come visit us," she explained, feeling sad at the prospect of Klaus being a 'visitor'.
A suggestive smirk crossed Rebekah's lips. Before Rebekah could make any further teasing remarks about her and Klaus, her glare stopped Rebekah in her tracks.
"What?" Rebekah asked, her eyes widening defensively as a guilty expression appeared on her face. "I was going to suggest that you could get Grayson bunk beds! Grayson would love it and Klaus would have a place to sleep!"
She rolled her eyes at Rebekah's transparent feelings towards her relationship, or lack thereof, with Klaus.
"You know that I'm still rooting for you two," Rebekah said bluntly, unashamed by her confession despite all of the circumstances that had transpired.
She nodded blankly, not sure how to react.
Thinking about it too much was painful and she was trying hard to keep her feelings down to get through everything for Grayson.
As much as she didn't want Klaus to leave, she knew it would be better for her heart - before she let her feelings overwhelm her again – before dreams like the one she had this morning got the better of her.
It's not like she wanted things to be this way, but she didn't see any other way given the very different paths she and Klaus had been on before Grayson brought them together. It was best to end it now before it became even more difficult to undo.
"Maybe it's right, just not right now?" Rebekah wondered optimistically, sensing her discomfort with the topic of conversation.
"Right now, I have to go and put Grayson down for his afternoon nap," she said to Rebekah, changing the subject as Grayson was tugging at her pants and whining for her attention.
She picked Grayson up.
"We're not done discussing this," Rebekah scowled, shaking her head with a knowing smile as she waived into the camera, saying goodbye to her and Grayson.
"Yes we are," she sang back to Rebekah with a wave of her hand before she closed the app on her phone.
The Mystic Grill cleaned up nicely as a semi-formal venue for Stefan and Meredith's reception, she thought as she glanced around at the rose-filled centrepieces surrounded by white table linens, illuminated by candles and strings of lights criss-crossed from wooden ceiling beams.
She knew Matt would be pleased with how the venue turned out as well, eager to showcase the Grill as an event space to attract lucrative business.
The venue itself was near capacity; the reception well attended by Stefan and Meredith's family, friends, and co-workers. Their guests also included prominent residents of Mystic Falls and donors to the hospital out of obligation – Carol and Richard Lockwood being the prime examples.
Fortunately for her, the Lockwoods were seated on the other side of the room. She and Carol had not spoken since prior to the court hearing – though she suspected she would have to confront Carol sooner or later with the Winter Wonderland charity event coming up at the end of November. Carol would want local sponsors and perhaps a dress made. Planning for next year's Miss Mystic Falls pageant would start again soon, too – though they had just gotten through the last pageant. With everything that had happened and the Lockwoods' involvement in assisting Klaus's parents in the court case, she was dreading having to play nice with Carol for the sake of her business.
She was nursing her glass of wine closely as they waited for the dinner to be served, trying to think of something to say to do her part in making conversation at the table. Their table, short two guests, had proven to be an awkward foursome. Camille was her cousin Declan's plus one. Declan, who was Mayor Lockwood's top aid, had recently broken up with his long time boyfriend and fiancé, Josh, after he discovered his infidelity while he had been away on a business trip to New Orleans. And so Camille readily stepped in as Declan's date in Josh's place. While she had already known the back-story from Camille, Declan had made a point of filling in her and Klaus in on all the details within the first few minutes of being seated.
Camille and Declan's attendance was a relief to her, as she feared being seated with Klaus alone. While she and Klaus were capable of making small talk with one another – particularly when it came to Grayson – there was always this underlying tension she could sense between them. She wasn't sure what the root of the tension was – if it was hostile or sexual, or perhaps a bit of both – but it made her uncomfortable.
Tonight, she knew the tension was mostly sexual, and so she was doing her best to keep her distance, though he was seated right beside her. He would be returning to New York soon, she tried to remind herself. Each time she caught herself noticing his jaw outlined by the stubble of his facial hair and his frame defined by his white collared dress shirt and grey pants she had to force herself to avert her eyes. The sweet smell of his cologne reminded her of sex and she felt herself quivering every time she caught the scent in the air.
It wasn't completely one-sided either – judging by the familiar way his eyes undressed her when she descended the stairs to leave for the reception in the burgundy dress Rebekah had told her to wear and the way he subtly complimented the way she had pinned up her hair – suggestions that she had now come to believe were a set up on Rebekah's part, considering Klaus's reaction.
"Meredith's dress looks beautiful," Declan commented in awe, his Irish accent still taking her by surprise since he and Camille were related. Obviously, at some point, their families had been separated by the Atlantic Ocean.
"Caroline designed it," Camille informed him. .
"You should be making dresses for the stars," Declan said, seemingly confused by her talent and why she had chosen to remain in Mystic Falls.
She smiled thankfully at Declan, appreciative of his compliment.
"That's what we tell her," Camille said, making obvious eye contact with Klaus, who was seated across from her.
"They look quite happy," Declan observed Meredith and Stefan, seated at the head table looking head over heels for one another. "That was supposed to be me and Joshua," he said regretfully as he polished off his wine dramatically. "We were gonna get married in Ireland," he sighed.
She heard Klaus scoff under his breath and she dug her elbow into his side, even though she too was tired of hearing about Declan's ex.
"Excuse me? Is anyone sitting here?" a male voice asked to her right.
Glancing upwards, she saw a blonde-haired blue eyed thirty-something guy standing beside her, looking towards Camille, his hands on the empty chair that sat between her and Camille.
"This seems to be the only table short guests," he observed.
"I'm not…" – Camille stammered awkwardly as her eyes seemingly formed hearts at the handsome mystery guest.
She glared at Camille, kicking her foot from under the table as Declan piped up interestedly. "I think you are," Declan said, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the mystery man.
Camille and Declan had the same taste in men, she concluded to herself with a faint smirk.
The mystery man smiled thankfully and took the seat beside her and Camille.
"I think I'm the only one here without a plus one," the handsome guest noted. "I'm Wes Maxfield," he introduced himself as he extended his hand towards Camille first and made his rounds to Declan, Klaus, and then to her.
"How do you know the Bride and Groom?" she asked him curiously, as both Declan and Camille sat seemingly tongue-tied by his presence.
"Meredith and I went to med school together," he informed them, "we actually met on a blind date, we were entirely incompatible, but somehow we became friends instead," he chuckled.
Declan's intrigue seemed to wane the chances that Wes was interested in men dwindled with his admission that he and Meredith had once dated.
"Do you live in Mystic Falls?" she asked, trying to continue the casual conversation to learn more about him.
"I live over in McKinley. I'm a professor at Whitmore College in the Faculty of Medicine," he revealed.
She smiled at Camille suggestively who seemed oblivious to her intentional cues.
"Should we call you Doctor?" Declan asked, still enthused by Wes.
She could hear Klaus snort as he sipped his wine. She elbowed him again and he reacted with a cough.
Wes blushed in response to Declan's comment.
"You can if you want, but I don't insist upon it. The title makes me feel like a pretentious asshole," Wes admitted, causing them to laugh.
"Perhaps you knew Elijah Mikaelson?" she inquired, recalling that Elijah had taught courses at the college.
Wes nodded readily with a friendly smile. "We were acquaintances, but I didn't know him well. It was awful what happened to him and his wife," he said regretfully. "How did you know him?" he asked curiously.
"Elijah was Klaus's brother," she explained, motioning her head towards Klaus beside her. Klaus nodded in confirmation, though she knew he was uncomfortable talking about it.
This fact surprised Wes, obviously not expecting to encounter people who knew an acquaintance of his.
"Your brother was a brilliant doctor," Wes advised. "It's nice to meet you both," he said looking at her and Klaus. "Are you…"
She knew what he was about to ask and so in an effort to deflect his attention away from her and back onto Camille, she interrupted.
"Together?" she asked.
Wes nodded.
- Klaus was about to answer truthfully – that they weren't together or involved romantically.
"Yes, we are," she answered over Klaus's 'No' quickly, linking her arm around Klaus's arm subtly, garnering a confused reaction from Klaus, Declan, and Camille.
"How long has it been sweetie?" she asked Klaus, who was giving her a bewildered look. She jabbed him with her hand discreetly, urging him to play along.
She laughed playfully, pretending that she was expecting his silence. "He always forgets," she mused. "Long enough that I'm expecting a ring on this finger any time," she said suggestively, raising her left hand that she had linked with Klaus's.
This seemed to be the answer Wes was looking for.
"No pressure buddy," Wes joked to Klaus.
"She'll be waiting a while," Klaus joked, seemingly catching on to what she was trying to achieve, but taking pleasure in turning it back on her.
She scoffed at Klaus, even if shooting her down was all part of the rouse.
"Anyone care for more wine?" Matt interrupted their conversation, offering a bottle of red and white wine, setting the bottles down for their table.
"Thanks, Matt," she smiled.
"The place looks great," Declan chimed in encouragingly, an obvious giddy smile plastered on his face.
"Glad to hear it," Matt grinned proudly. "Stefan and Meredith took a chance as my trial run."
"I think it paid off," she assured him, glancing around the room.
Matt nodded in agreement. "Dinner should be out shortly. I'll be back around in a bit," he said before heading to another table.
Declan let out a long sigh.
"My god, he's delicious," Declan groaned openly in front of everyone, clearly having consumed the majority of the first bottle of wine at their table.
Klaus chuckled. "You should go for it, mate. Matt Donovan plays for your team."
She and Camille smirked at one another.
Declan's eyes widened in excitement, elated by the possibility that he might have a shot with one of the blonde-haired blue-eyed men at the reception.
Their attention reverted back to the other blonde-haired blue-eyed man, Wes Maxfield, who they had not finished introducing to the table – Camille, in particular.
Wes looked at Camille and Declan curiously, obviously wondering how they knew each other considering Declan's reaction to Matt.
"We're cousins," Camille explained quickly.
"I'm gay," Declan shrugged, "And Irish."
Wes laughed, "Yeah, I gathered as much."
"And Camille is single," she interjected, causing Camille's face to turn a dark shade of red as she shot her back a death glare.
"And not gay," Declan added.
"And very embarrassed," Camille shuddered apologetically, shooting Declan and her both a warning glare.
Wes shrugged with a sympathetic smile, seemingly playing it cool despite the pressure she and Declan put on the situation.
"Being single is nothing to be ashamed about," Wes reassured her, purposely avoiding the real reason why Camille was embarrassed to ease her apprehension. "I'm single, too," he revealed as though he might be hinting to her.
Declan shared an intrigued expression with her, excited by how the exchange between Camille and Wes was unfolding.
She wanted to chime in and push things along for Camille, but as she was about to open her mouth, Klaus cleared his throat in an obvious manner, signalling to her to back off, nudging her as she had him previously.
It was then that they realized their arms were still linked as she had done previously to throw Wes off and turn him firmly in Camille's direction.
She knew Klaus noticed because she felt the muscle in his arm flinch against hers, but he didn't immediately move his arm, and neither did she. However, when their dinner arrived shortly thereafter, he was the first to pull away.
"I'm not sure how my quiet and nerdy little brother managed to snag a smart and beautiful doctor wife before me, but I'm relieved that the pressure is off me now. Thank you brother," Damon smirked amusedly to a few laughs from the group of guests.
She rolled her eyes alongside Klaus as they listened to Damon's narcissistic best man speech to Stefan and Meredith.
"Another consolation prize is that I've gained a sister out of this, who is an instigator like me who will keep my brother out of his shell and on his feet," Damon said, paying a compliment to Meredith.
She clapped in response to Damon's comment, happy that Damon was finally highlighting Meredith joining the Salvatore family.
"I'm still trying to figure out what Meredith is gaining out of all of this, exactly?" Damon pondered jokingly, mocking both Stefan and himself.
Stefan shrugged with a dumbfounded expression from the table he shared with Meredith, laughing when Meredith shrugged as well.
"His big…heart!" she shouted suggestively, giggling immaturely as Klaus shook his head amusedly from beside her.
Her bold remark could be attributed to her third glass of wine that was nearly finished.
The other guests snickered at her comment as Damon pretended to consider it thoughtfully.
Meredith shook her head in agreement with an exaggerated nod and a playful smirk causing most of the guests to chuckle, while the other, more conservative hung their heads bashfully.
"Well, I would have said a handsome and charming brother-in-law, but I suppose we have it directly from Meredith herself – confirmation of the size of my little brother's…heart," Damon said teasingly.
Damon held up his whiskey tumbler to conclude his speech to Stefan and Meredith with a toast to the newlywed couple.
"Here's to my brother choosing to commit that big…heart of his to his new bride for the rest of his life, and to Meredith for choosing to commit hers to my brother for some reason I'm still trying to understand," Damon said as genuinely as he could while succumbing to the urge to take one last jab at his brother.
Everyone toasted cheerfully as Damon's speech concluded.
Klaus looked at her questioningly, knowing that they had discussed the possibility of making a short speech together for Stefan and Meredith given all that they had done for them over the last few months. She confirmed with a nod, despite her hatred for public speaking, knowing that Klaus promised to do most of the talking.
With her affirmation, Klaus answered Damon's invitation to anyone else who wanted to speak well wishes for the bride and groom with a clink of his wine glass.
Snatching the attention, Klaus stood up confidently with his drink in hand and she followed suit, feeling inspired by the liquid courage coursing through her veins, standing behind Klaus supportively as she noticed Stefan and Meredith glancing at one another in curious anticipation of what they might say.
She followed Klaus towards Damon who was holding the mic, waiting for them to approach.
Damon gave them a restrained smile, knowing things between them had been particularly tense since the custody hearing for Grayson and his affidavit that Mikael and Esther had used to support their position.
She bit her lip in suspense as she waited for Klaus's exchange with Damon, half-expecting Klaus to beat Damon with the mic. Instead, Klaus ignored Damon and accepted the mic, focusing on the task at hand for the sake of Stefan and Meredith.
"Though enjoyable, I'll leave the self-deprecation and brotherly teasing to Damon," Klaus mused reassuring a relieved Stefan and Meredith who seemed to be expecting more of the same from his toast. "I got away with enough of that at my brother, Elijah's wedding."
Stefan raised his glass towards Klaus in thankful appreciation.
"Caroline and I will keep this brief, but for those who don't know, Stefan and I have been mates since our childhood. Over the last few months Stefan has been helping me and Caroline manage the estates of my brother, Elijah and his wife, Elena, following their unexpected passing earlier this year. More importantly, he has been fighting tirelessly for us to obtain custody of Elijah and Elena's son, Grayson – something he just recently brought to a successful conclusion for us," Klaus noted.
Mention of their courtroom success garnered a round of steady applause from the reception guests.
"I say all of this not to over-share or brag about what a great lawyer Stefan is," Klaus continued, "we all know he doesn't need an ego boost in that department."
Some guests, whom she perceived to be Stefan's professional colleagues, snickered and cheered in response to Klaus's quip.
"I say this because Stefan did all of this during his engagement to Meredith, while planning a wedding with her, and even while they were in Europe getting married. I say this to demonstrate what a valuable friend Stefan has been to me, and now to Caroline and Grayson, by sacrificing so much of his time, that should have otherwise been spent in these happier moments with Meredith, to advocate for us, defend us, and help us through what have been some of our most difficult moments. I say this because I think it demonstrates the kind of partner Stefan will be – not just in law, but in his life."
Klaus paused as he considered his next words carefully.
"Meredith," Klaus started, addressing her directly, "I know that Stefan will always be your strongest advocate and defender, and will always be there to help you through your most difficult moments. Based upon the sacrifices that you have also made for us in this process, I know that you will reciprocate these qualities with Stefan. The two of you will undoubtedly have many happy moments together – tonight included – but it will be how you both support one another through the difficult times that will define and strengthen your relationship. And though I have never been a strong supporter of the institution of marriage, I do admire what the two of you share – what my brother and Elena shared – I do support that and perhaps one day I'll have the privilege," Klaus said sincerely.
She blinked, somewhat taken aback, but impressed by the thoughtfulness and eloquence of Klaus's words and also bewildered by his seemingly genuine change of heart regarding committed relationships.
Stefan and Meredith too seemed pleasantly surprised by Klaus's speech as they listened with uncertain attentiveness.
Klaus passed the mic, knowing that despite her reluctance, that she wanted to speak as well.
"We want to thank both of you for your sacrifice," she said, focusing on the bride and groom, "knowing that Meredith dedicated a lot of her time with Stefan by sacrificing it for us so that he could help us. You both sacrificed your time when you should have been spending it together, planning your wedding and celebrating. Together, through this process, you have both become very dear friends. Klaus and I will never forget the sacrifice you made to help us through the most important time in our lives during the most important time in yours. Congratulations and all the happiness to you both," she said, lifting her glass towards them.
"Cheers," Klaus concluded, raising his glass alongside hers as Meredith, Stefan, and the rest of the guests followed suit.
Stefan and Meredith kissed, to the receptive applause and cheers of their guests observing them.
She and Klaus both stepped aside while the guests were distracted by the newlywed couple's embrace.
Scowling at Damon, she handed him the mic, preparing to ignore him otherwise.
Damon extended his hand, brushing it against her arm to stop her. She recoiled from Damon's touch causing Klaus to nearly walk into her as he followed behind her.
"I really don't want to talk to you, Damon," she said, as politely as possible.
"I get it," Damon acknowledged, still standing in their way.
"You heard her, mate," Klaus said from behind her defensively.
"You don't have to talk to me," Damon assured them, "but I need to talk to you," he said pointedly.
She sighed in frustration, crossing her arms as she stood in place, waiting for Damon to say what he had to say so as not to make a scene.
"Look, I just wanted to apologize," Damon started, "for all of my past behaviour with both of you and for the affidavit I did for Mikael and Esther. I'm glad you got custody of Grayson. You both deserve it; he should be with you," he said.
Damon's apology surprised her – she never expected Damon to directly address any of his past behaviour and especially his involvement in jeopardizing their case for custody of Grayson, particularly as he had done the follow up affidavit and he maintained that Mikael and Esther had threatened him into preparing the first one. While she believed that Mikael and Esther were capable of making such threats, that didn't absolve Damon from his role entirely.
"Are you finished?" Klaus asked, bitterness still dripping from the tone of his voice.
Damon nodded with a hard swallow, accepting Klaus's response without any sort of hostile remark in response.
Now that the court process was over and they had custody of Grayson, she didn't want to think backwards, she only wanted to think forwards. Holding a grudge or resentment towards Damon was not worth it – she was exhausted from all of the negative emotions. She was sure Klaus may not want to go as easy on Damon, but she had to move on for herself.
"Thank you, Damon," she acknowledged. "I appreciate your apology," she said truthfully, giving him a small nod in affirmation. "Fortunately, for you, our case was successful," she said pleasantly, but the underlying threat was apparent. "Please let's just move on and focus on Stefan and Meredith," she finished, urging both Klaus and Damon to follow her request.
"Okay," Damon complied.
Klaus nodded in agreement silently, finishing off his glass of wine before walking by them towards Stefan and Meredith, who were approaching to make their own address to their guests.
"Why aren't you dancing?" Meredith's voice said from beside him as he sat with his back against the bar, watching the crowd of guests on the dance floor move awkwardly to the Macarena.
"I think everyone else, including your husband, has this one under control," he mused, recalling the way this song used to play repeatedly at every middle school dance he had attended when he was younger.
He caught himself smirking as he watched Caroline and Camille crash into one another as they finished off the dance sequence and tried to change directions with a slight jump. Alcohol likely played a part in their lack of coordination.
Despite his quick efforts to hide his amusement, Meredith glanced in the direction he had been looking and quickly zeroed in on the focus of his attention.
"She looks beautiful doesn't she?" Meredith commented, obviously referring to Caroline. "Well, besides the bride," she joked.
He nodded readily in agreement. Caroline looked beautiful to him regardless of the occasion, but tonight she looked particularly radiant. In part, he knew it was the way the party dress hugged her figure and how her hair was pulled back, but he also knew it was because she was free from the stress of the court case that had been looming over them both.
"She does," he acknowledged, unabashedly, knowing his lingering feelings for Caroline were transparent to both Meredith and Stefan.
"Have you told her that yet tonight?" Meredith wondered.
He laughed through his teeth at Meredith's question as he shook his head in response.
"Why not?" she probed.
"I don't think it would be appropriate in the circumstances," he said, feeling as though he was stating the obvious.
"What circumstances?" Meredith continued, playing stupid.
"The ones that involve us being friends and co-parents because she decided that she wasn't ready to make the commitment," he elaborated, noting the irony of it having regard to his own former allergy to any form of commitment. "And, the ones that involve me returning to New York in a week," he added.
Meredith smirked, seemingly unimpressed by his answer.
"I think those are exactly the appropriate circumstances," she countered.
He shrugged, not convinced by her confidence. If he told Caroline how gorgeous she looked tonight, she would surely shoot him down and keep her distance even more so than she had since he returned from New York.
"We just got Grayson. I think it would complicate things," he stated. "It takes time," he said in his defense.
"You don't have the luxury of time," Meredith retorted seriously.
He knew Meredith had a point, but he didn't want to admit it out loud. Once he returned to New York on a more permanent basis, he knew the chances of reconnecting with Caroline would dwindle as they started their lives with Grayson apart. His trouble was figuring out how to work up the courage to pick himself up while he was down and try again with her.
"And I think it's time you let your brother-in-law prove to you that he's a better dancer than Stefan," Damon interrupted their conversation with a tall model-like brunette woman by his side.
A slower song had begun to play, which prompted Damon's remark.
"Klaus? Would you mind keeping my date, Aimee, company for this song?" Damon inquired with a suggestive smirk.
Damon's request put him on the spot and made him feel uncomfortable. The last thing he needed was to be distracting himself with another woman. He knew it wouldn't do him any favours when it came to his future with Caroline.
Aimee smiled, clearly not as uncomfortable as he was with the proposition Damon had made.
From the corner of his eye he could see Caroline was occupied, dancing with Stefan and talking to him intently.
Damon leaned into him to talk discreetly as he cajoled Meredith towards the dance floor.
"I know that you hate me, but I'm trying to help you get your girl here," Damon said lowly.
He looked at Damon confused.
"Trust me," Damon said, "A little bit of jealousy can go a long way," he said with confidence and a wink.
As she made her way back from the bathroom, she realized that the upbeat music that she and Camille had just been previously dancing up a storm to had switched gears to something slower.
She dreaded this moment when she was younger at school dances, finding all of her friends partnered up except for her.
Camille was dancing with Wes and Declan was flirting with Matt, who was multitasking, helping his staff set out snacks for guests on a long side table away from the dance floor.
"Would you like to dance?" Stefan's voice said from behind her as she scanned the crowd of guests for Klaus. "It seems Damon has set off to try and prove to my wife that he's the better dancer between the two of us."
She turned around with a smile, happily indulging Stefan's request so as to save herself the awkwardness of having to retreat across the dance floor to an empty table.
As she and Stefan began to dance, she saw Meredith being led from the bar to the dance floor by Damon. Her eyes retraced their steps as she scanned the venue for Klaus, and it was then that she caught sight of Klaus at the bar. That was not unusual in and of itself but she noticed that he was talking to a tall brunette woman with a narrow waist and long floral dress that framed her features. She could have sworn that she had seen the unknown woman with Damon earlier, but she hadn't exactly been paying much attention to him. Her expression narrowed while she began to watch, from over Stefan's shoulder, Klaus and the woman exchange pleasantries.
"Are you having a good time?" Stefan asked her curiously.
She nodded as her eyes darted between Stefan and the bar area where Klaus was engaging with the woman.
"The reception was a great idea," she told him genuinely. "Though if I had the money, travelling to Italy to see you and Meredith exchange your vows and to see Meredith in her gown would have been nice," she pointed out, underscoring European vacation as a travel destination on her mental bucket list.
Stefan laughed with a nod of understanding.
"Meredith and I debated about eloping, but I'm glad we did it. It was more personal," he explained.
"Romantic," she clarified, seeing the appeal of exchanging wedding vows with a partner in a simple and intimate ceremony thousands of miles away from your routine life without the prying eyes of guests watching it all unfold – though she had planned her big dream wedding ceremony since she was a little girl.
She found her eyes drifting back to the bar where the woman was talking to Klaus, smiling playfully, and patting Klaus's arm every so often as they conversed.
With Klaus at the bar, it reminded her of the Valentine's Day event at the Grill over a year ago – the way he had looked at her with such intensity from his seat at the bar, the shot he had ordered her (soco and lime) and how he had boldly slipped his hotel key card underneath the glass.
"It was," Stefan agreed, snapping her out of her focus on Klaus.
"I am really sorry Mikael and Esther had such poor timing with their Motion," she apologized or the hundredth time, still feeling guilty for distracting Stefan and Meredith from the excitement of their wedding. "Klaus and I truly are thankful for all that you did in helping us get custody of Grayson," she stressed, wanting to ensure that Stefan knew how grateful she and Klaus were.
Stefan gave her a modest smile.
"It's my job," he said with a shrug.
She raised an eyebrow, knowing that there was more to it than that. Stefan never would have sacrificed his time like that for just any client.
"Growing up with Klaus and knowing how his parents are made it a little personal," Stefan confessed. "There was no way I was going to let Mikael and Esther take custody of Grayson," he said confidently. "Grayson should be with you and Klaus. That's what Elijah and Elena wanted."
"You think?" she asked, feeling suddenly insecure about everything in that moment.
"The parenting arrangement you and Klaus have for Grayson may be somewhat unconventional, but it's nothing out of the norm for separated families. Grayson is young enough that he will never know the difference. It will be what he's used to," Stefan assured her. "It's conflict that negatively impacts children most – and that's exactly what Grayson would have been subjected to with Mikael and Esther if they had obtained custody of him."
She nodded, thinking back to the dream she had woken up to that morning. While the thought of Klaus moving on with someone else and having children of his own was unsettling to her, she did hope that they could become amicable co-parents as they seemed to be in her dream. It was important to her that they avoid subjecting Grayson to any conflict between the two of them.
As they moved around the dance floor, smiling at Meredith as she passed by with Damon, she couldn't help but fix her eyes upon Klaus, wondering curiously about the woman he was talking to, frustrated by how it was monopolizing her thoughts and attention.
"I think she's Damon's date," Stefan's voice said amusedly, snapping her attention away from the distraction.
"Who?" she asked, confused by Stefan's comment.
"The woman talking to Klaus – the one you've been staring daggers at since we started dancing," he chuckled.
"I have not," she denied flatly, her skin hot with embarrassment as she realized Stefan had caught her spying.
Stefan scoffed at her denial.
"You don't have anything to worry about, Caroline," Stefan assured her confidently.
His comment piqued her curiosity, but she glanced away, looking at the other guests moving about the dance floor to pretend that she was not as interested as she was to know what Stefan meant.
"Klaus is in love with you," Stefan shrugged. "I think he has been since Elijah and Elena's wedding and he has been even since you pressed pause. The way he looks at you. It's you for him, Caroline," he underscored.
She looked away again, shrugging Stefan off, her emotions threatening to get the better of her in front of everyone if she took Stefan seriously. In that moment, her eyes betrayed her, floating over to the bar once more, meeting Klaus's eyes this time.
"But after what happened in New York, I think Klaus needs you to show him that it's him for you," Stefan advised.
He leaned over the bar absently, humouring Damon's date, Aimee, as she talked mindlessly – and endlessly – about what felt like her entire life story, cutting him off every time he tried to engage in conversation with her. It was clear that she was fairly intoxicated, but he suspected the alcohol simply amplified her self-centred sober personality.
"Klaus," he heard a quiet but familiar voice cut through the conclusion of the slow song and Aimee's obnoxious squawking.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Caroline standing there alone, an unsure expression on her face.
Caroline's interruption silenced Aimee, who glared at her, seemingly offended that she had been cut-off. He contained a smirk as Caroline flashed Aimee a forced smile of acknowledgement. He could tell when Caroline was feigning sincerity for the sake of being polite.
"Would you like to dance?" Caroline asked him hesitantly.
It was then that he noticed that another slow song had begun to play.
Her invitation took him by surprise.
While he was uncertain as to Caroline's intentions, he would gladly take advantage of the opportunity to escape his current circumstances, even if she was only asking him to dance out of pity. If he was being honest with himself, he wasn't going to refuse an opportunity to be close to her.
"Sure," he accepted.
After excusing himself, he followed Caroline through the other reception guests to a spot on the dance floor, trying to avoid staring too obviously at the open back of her dress.
He tensed as Caroline placed one hand in his and her other hand on his shoulder. His free hand slid tentatively around her waist, his thumb grazing her lower back unintentionally as he tried to balance it delicately in the neutral zone on the fabric of her dress just below the exposed skin of her back and the above the curve of her ass.
She smelt like fresh flowers and sweet candy.
They hadn't been this close since they were in New York together, he thought to himself, thinking back to their time together before it had turned unexpectedly sour.
"I can't believe Stefan and Meredith are married," Caroline remarked in disbelief. "I feel old," she laughed.
He chuckled at her comment. While they were still quite young, he understood what Caroline meant. It seemed like everyone they knew were involved in committed relationships, having children, or both. He and Caroline had just become Grayson's court-ordered parents themselves – though parents nonetheless.
"They look so happy," Caroline observed.
Stefan and Meredith were dancing closely to the left of them; Meredith's arms were wrapped around Stefan's neck and her head was resting on his shoulder.
"They do," he agreed, genuinely pleased for Stefan, knowing that he had wanted this for a while.
He wished that he could hold Caroline in the same way Stefan and Meredith were embraced.
"Maybe Grayson will have a playmate sooner rather than later," Caroline smirked suggestively referencing how close Stefan and Meredith appeared to be.
His eyebrows rose in response to Caroline's comment.
"Disgusting," he joked, preferring not to have his mind turned to the thought of his friend's sex life.
Caroline rolled her eyes at him.
He lived for that look of condescension – not because he enjoyed her contempt, but because she looked so alluring when she did it.
"Real mature," Caroline mused. "What happened to the Klaus who gave such a sincere speech earlier?" she wondered. "Your words were so sweet," she said encouragingly.
He shrugged with a self-conscious laugh, not wanting to draw attention to what he had said earlier.
They were distracted momentarily by Damon swiping by them with his date, Aimee. He noticed Damon smirk in his direction with a wink.
Caroline noticed it too and her eyebrows furrowed with confusion.
"Why is Damon winking at you?" she wondered.
He knew why Damon was winking – affirming that he had been right about the effect that a little bit of jealousy could have on a situation; more particularly, the effect that a little jealousy could have on Caroline Forbes.
"I think Damon has always had a thing for me," he suggested facetiously, trying to throw Caroline off with humour.
Obviously she knew that he was joking.
"Could it have something to do with his date that you were flirting with?" she fished.
He raised his eyebrows, surprised by Caroline's assertion. If she only knew, he was not flirting with her at all.
"What's her name? Please tell me it's not Cara?" she wondered randomly with a slight shudder.
"One, I was not flirting. Two, her name is Aimee. And three, who is Cara?" he asked curiously, confused by the name she had seemingly pulled out of a hat.
His response did not seem to convince Caroline.
"You sound jealous?" he teased boldly, spurred on by the alcohol he had consumed throughout the night.
"No! I'm not," Caroline denied quickly with a scowl – making him feel disappointed for some reason.
He shrugged, inviting her to elaborate.
"As co-parent of Grayson with you, I feel responsible to ensure that you're being more selective in the dating department. I'm just trying to help," she said innocently. "You need someone who is more responsible, honest, maternal, understanding, kind," she began to list.
"Someone like you?" he asked, the question slipping from his lips before he had a chance to stop himself.
Caroline tensed, looking away for a moment.
"Well, I wasn't referring to me," she began to backpedal. "But, now that you're officially a parent to Grayson, I think it would be in poor taste to continue picking up women in bars."
He laughed at loud.
"I picked you up in a bar," he said, pointing out the hypocrisy of her suggestion. "At this very bar, in fact."
Her eyes widened at him. "Oh my god. Seriously?" she said, clearly annoyed by the mention of their history at the Mystic Grill.
He smirked, deriving some form of enjoyment from pushing her buttons.
"That was before Grayson," Caroline countered, as if that invalidated his point.
A cherry red colour began to spread across Caroline's cheeks.
"Embarrassed?" he wondered, afraid that her answer might be yes.
She shook her head in denial as they continued to dance.
"You were so sure of yourself that night," she sneered laughingly as if she had been completely uninvolved in the events that transpired that evening.
"I really wasn't," he confessed, recalling how intimidated he felt by her that night.
At the start, she had shot him down at every turn, hostility dripping from every word she spoke to him. He didn't even think he stood a chance with her, believing her to be too good for him. After sending her the drink with his hotel key card from across the bar, he half-expected her to respond by tossing the drink in her face.
"Could have fooled me," she said, still not convinced by his admission.
"Liquid courage pushed me to take a chance," he revealed, knowing that he wouldn't have made such a bold move that night without a little help from the refreshments behind the bar.
"What did you have to be so afraid of?" Caroline wondered genuinely.
He blinked at her incredulously, as if it should be obvious to her.
"You were stunning," he said simply, his eyes looking into hers, recalling the way she lit up the room with her smile and laugh, and the way she looked in the white dress she'd worn that night.
Caroline's hand tightened in his in response to his words, but she averted his gaze. He couldn't tell if she was uncomfortable by what he said or just self-conscious. He thought about the advice that Meredith had given him earlier.
"You still are," he clarified, hoping to reassure her, meeting her eyes once more.
It was after midnight as she searched the crowd of lively guests still dancing to the upbeat music playing, for any sign of Klaus.
Their earlier dance and intense conversation had ended prematurely with the conclusion of the song and they had kept their distance after that. She had chastised herself for allowing her defences to drop around Klaus so readily over one dance.
She spotted Camille dancing closely with Wes. While she didn't want to bother them, she and Klaus had discussed splitting a taxi home with Camille and Declan earlier that evening.
"Hey," she said awkwardly over the music to the dancing couple, tapping Camille on the shoulder to get her attention.
Camille seemed annoyed at first until she realized it was her. She apologized to them for the interruption and Camille stepped away from Wes so that she could talk to her privately.
With her back turned to Wes, Camille fanned herself, mouthing the words, 'oh my god' excitedly to her as they moved to the side of the dance floor.
She smirked at Camille, happy that things seemed to be going very well between her and Wes after just a few short hours. When they were back at work after the weekend was over, she knew that she would have to get the full details as to how the night unfolded.
"I'm trying to find Klaus to see if he's ready back to the house now. I don't want to keep April waiting any longer. Do you and Declan still want to share a taxi?" she wondered, suspecting that Camille's answer would likely be no.
Camille hesitated. She knew that she was debating whether or not to play it safe by leaving with her and Klaus or staying a little longer with Wes.
"If you're having a good time, you should stay," she encouraged, knowing that Camille deserved to enjoy herself with Wes.
Camille grinned guiltily. "Don't judge me," she said worriedly.
She laughed. "I would never judge you. He's hot and you're a grown woman," she said encouragingly. Besides, she should be the last person judging anyone for leaving the Grill with a man she barely knew, she thought to herself as she thought about the Valentine's Day she shared with Klaus. "Just be careful," she warned.
Camille nodded giddily.
"I think Declan is going to be sticking around, too," Camille said confidently.
She was intrigued by Camille's comment.
"I haven't seen Declan for the last hour. I think he may have disappeared in the back with Matt. They've been chatting off and on all night when Matt hasn't been busy," Camille revealed.
Though she had noticed Matt and Declan talking earlier, she hadn't noticed their more recent absences.
She wished Camille a good night, urging her to be safe once more and to call her if she needed anything.
With that, she returned to searching for Klaus. He was not at his usual spot at the bar and the table they had been seated at earlier for the dinner was empty.
Meredith and Stefan were busy posing for selfies with some of their other guests, including Damon and his date, Aimee, and so she avoided seeking their help in locating Klaus.
She checked her phone, but Klaus had not replied to her texts.
Knowing that the taxi she had already called may be waiting, she decided to go outside and see for herself. If the taxi was there she would try to stall the driver for a few more minutes to find Klaus. If Klaus was nowhere to be found, she would give up and go home by herself.
She headed outside; the cool autumn breeze refreshed her skin but sent a chill down her spine at the same time. It had been warmer earlier in the evening and she had not thought to bring a jacket, failing to account for the unexpected drop in temperature.
The streets of downtown Mystic Falls were dead at this hour, save for a few of Stefan and Meredith's guests who were getting ready to leave for the night.
There was no sign of her taxi, but as she looked down the sidewalk, she noticed Klaus leaning against the brick wall of the Grill, a cigarette in hand.
When he saw her, he disposed of the cigarette regretfully into one of the disposal bins attached to the exterior wall. He had been doing well with not smoking from what she could tell. She hadn't noticed him smoking since before they received the judge's favourable decision about Grayson.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked, sensing that there was more to his disappearance outside than a nicotine craving.
"I just needed some air," he explained casually as she stepped towards him, her heels clicking on the sidewalk.
She looked towards the cigarette disposal box and Klaus nodded. "I know, it's counterproductive," he acknowledged, referring to smoking and his desire for air. "The craving was a little stronger than normal tonight," he admitted.
While she knew it had a lot to do with the combination of drinking and socializing, she wondered if it had something to do with their earlier encounter and the tension that ran thick between them.
She nodded, knowing it wasn't her place to criticize him for the habit – he had been struggling to quit and she could appreciate the effort he had made to stop for Grayson.
"I called a taxi to head back to the house. It should be here soon," she informed him.
Klaus sighed in acknowledgement.
"I bet you won't miss waiting for taxis when you're back in New York," she mused, knowing that public transportation was quite rudimentary in Mystic Falls.
She wondered if there was anything Klaus would miss about Mystic Falls.
He was quiet for a moment, seeming pensive and sombre.
"It will be difficult to leave again," he admitted, revealing he seemed to be struggling with the thought of returning to New York.
"It will be difficult to see you leave," she responded honestly – knowing that it wouldn't just be hard for Grayson, but for herself as well on a practical and romantic level.
They stood there quietly for a moment, neither of them quite sure what to say to the other to offer reassurance.
"Are Camille and Declan coming with us?" Klaus wondered, breaking the silence with some much-needed small talk to ease the tension between them.
She snorted as she released a suggestive, but giddy, laugh. "Let's just say that I think Camille will have Dr. Wes Maxfield to share a taxi with, and it appears that Declan may be leaving with Matt Donovan," she revealed.
Klaus smirked concurrently with a surprised gasp and a shrug.
"Well that didn't take long," he said impressed. "I suspected that was what your earlier charade with me was about," he added, referring to her earlier effort to convince Wes Maxfield that she and Klaus were in a relationship so that he would focus his attentions upon Camille.
"You played along too well," she scoffed sarcastically, noting the way he treated her as if she was an overbearing girlfriend.
Klaus chuckled with amusement.
"I'm surprised you brushed him off," he said.
She arched a curious eyebrow. "Why?"
He shrugged. "He seems like safe bet – clean cut, doctor…boring."
Responding to his remark with an amused snort, she shook her head.
"I wasn't interested," she said simply.
"You did yourself a favour," Klaus said definitively, sparking her curiosity further.
She waited for him to elaborate.
"As your fellow co-parent, I feel responsible to ensure that you're being more selective in the dating department. I'm just trying to help," he mused, throwing her earlier comment to him back in her face.
Her eyes widened as she flashed him an incredulous look.
"You need someone who is more adventurous, playful, creative, passionate," he listed, much like she had earlier to him.
"Someone like you?" she countered, the question slipping from her lips before she had a chance to stop herself.
Klaus became visibly stiff and uncomfortable, focusing on a couple that passed by hand in hand along the sidewalk in front of them.
"I wasn't referring to me," he said quietly with a shrug, a hint of disappointment in his voice as this conversation played out in much the same way as their earlier one had.
The tension and distance between them sent an unpleasant chill to her bones and she crossed her arms tightly under her chest, the chilly autumn air getting the better of her as she began to shiver.
Her response to the elements seemed to snap Klaus out of his melancholy daze. "Here," he said, referring to his jacket as he began to unbutton it.
"You don't have to…" she began, not wanting him to sacrifice his jacket for her.
"Can I ask you something?" he inquired as he removed his jacket, ignoring her protest, sparking a reluctant curiosity within her, sensing that his question may be important.
"Sure," she agreed, waiting for him to elaborate.
"Do you regret our time together?" he wondered, the vulnerability of his question apparent as he waited for her answer.
She thought about his question as she allowed him to drape his jacket over her shoulders protectively, enveloping her cold frame with his body heat and his scent.
Avoiding his eyes, she watched as his hands clenched the edges of his jacket to pull it closed around her.
"No, I don't regret our time together," she answered him sincerely. "Do you?" she asked, her eyes rising apprehensively to meet his.
He was quiet for a moment and his silence made her nervous.
"I could never," he said, still close, his hands still holding his jacket around her tightly. "It was real for me, Caroline," he revealed.
She felt her heart leap into her throat at his words and the sincerity in his voice as he said her name, feeling herself being pulled back into him like a magnet. Her mind was racing, fighting with her heart about how to respond. Giving in to the feelings she was struggling to suppress was dangerous, but the pain of trying to overcome her desire for him was killing her inside.
"It was real for me too," she acknowledged, her eyes darting from his eyes to his lips as she moved in closer. "It still is real for me, Klaus," she found herself confessing.
Before she could continue, she was met with Klaus's response as he cupped her face and closed the distance between them with a deep and yearning kiss – one that sucked the air from her lungs, one she had been longing for since she'd left New York.
Her hands reached out from his jacket, cupping his face as he had hers, claiming each other's lips in a series of frantic and hungry kisses, their tongues caressing fleetingly as they kissed hastily – she needed as much of him as she could get out of such a small and unexpected exchange.
God, she had missed him; she hadn't truly realized how much until this moment.
Caught up in the feeling, she stumbled backwards on her heel, and he caught her, his forearm sliding behind her, their lips still reacquainting themselves as she settled herself against the wall.
His body yielded to hers, conforming to the contours of hers while they continued their desperate embrace.
As quickly as it started, it stopped with Klaus's hand dropping away from her face and a broken kiss.
She struggled to catch her breath in an effort to regain her composure, searching for an explanation as to why he had suddenly hesitated and pulled back.
"We can't do this," he said breathlessly, regret laced in the tone of his voice as his eyes faltered from hers.
"What do you mean?" she asked confusedly, one of her hands still framing his face as his hand fell over top of hers, holding her hand in place against his cheek.
In the moment, while waiting for Klaus's response, she noticed their taxi pull up alongside the curb.
Klaus's eyes closed hesitantly before opening once more.
"Because you'll break my heart, Caroline Forbes," he concluded with a discontented sigh, staring at her pointedly before stepping back from her entirely, leaving her standing there completely stunned and defenceless as he retreated towards the waiting taxi.
A/N: Ahhh! Sorry guys…don't hate me!
I hope I didn't scare you too much with that first part, lol. Consider it an early April Fools' Day joke.
Good things come to those who wait. Not to worry, there are still two chapters left!
Please let me know your thoughts. I'm eager to know what you thought of the chapter and your hopes and dreams for the final two chapters!
Next Time: As Klaus's trip to Mystic Falls is coming to an end, he tries to soak in his final days with Grayson. A negative exchange leaves Caroline discouraged and an unexpected birthday gift pushes her to confront her feelings and make a sudden choice.
Dun Dun Dun…