AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello lovelies, here is my newest drabble for this tale. It went a complete 180 from what I had planned, but I hope you like it. Thanks to klarolineepiclove and loveyou914(Klovec) for their help with this, I appreciate it greatly.

First Family Dinner

"There is nothing to be nervous about." Klaus declared as they reached the front door of his sister and brother-in-law's house and saw Caroline running her hands over her jacket to smooth down where the clothes had been pulled up when she had lifted Will onto her hip. He had offered to carry him or hold the boy's hand to lead him up to the door but Caroline had simply thanked him, saying she had him.

"Easy for you to say, they are your family." Caroline replied as she reached to ring the bell, hesitating only for a second before pressing it. There was no backing out now, not that she really had had much choice to begin with unless she wanted to give Klaus' family a bad impression of her.

"True, but considering I'm going to subject you to them, I still have the larger reason to be nervous here." Klaus admitted though he could see it did no good. She was still anxiously fidgeting, but instead of checking over her own appearance she was doing it to Will. When he saw her running her fingers over her son's unruly blonde curls, he added. "He's under two, love. They won't expect perfect grooming until he's at least three."

"Good, I only have to worry about myself then." Caroline said as she snickered a little at his comment. She knew he was trying to soothe her nerves and she was grateful for that. She had been nervous since he had first extended the invitation a few days ago but she didn't think it would be happening anytime soon.

Rebekah and Klaus' mother Esther, along with their other brothers, had shown up in Mystic Falls at the beginning of the week for a visit. It had come as a bit of a surprise considering that Klaus, Rebekah and Stefan had visited the Mikaelsons during the holidays a couple months ago but not an unwelcomed one. That was until his family had discovered that he had started dating someone, and insisted on meeting her as well as Will, then Klaus said he was quickly remembering why he had put some physical distance between them and himself.

"You have nothing to worry about," Klaus stated as he reached forward and to run his finger along her chin. "Did I not tell you that you looked beautiful tonight?"

Feeling her heart melt a little at his compliment and the way he was looking at her, Caroline shook her head. "It must have slipped your mind. That or you never got a chance to get a word in since either Will and I have been chattering since we left your house."

"Well there was a brief pause when you both took a breath." He teased, earning him a slight slap to the arm. "But now it seems that the opportunity has presented itself to remedy my error. You look very beautiful tonight, doesn't she Will?"

"Bootiful." Will said, trying to repeat what Klaus had said, earning a laugh from them both, which only encouraged his mimicry. "Bootiful."

"Thank you, baby." Caroline replied as she leaned forward and kiss him on the forehead. The kiss caused Will to giggle before throwing his arms around his mother's neck, hugging her tightly.

"If you are exchanging kisses as rewards for compliments, I believe you forgot someone." Klaus informed her, a cheeky smirk on his face as he brought his finger up to tap his own lips causing Caroline to laugh though it didn't stop her from leaning forward to grant him his reward. It was then that the door they stood in front of them opened.

"Oh lord, I thought Rebekah was joking when she said that you two were going to give me cavities but she wasn't, was she?" The brunette who stood in the doorway asked, a mischievous grin on her face. "I never thought I'd see this side of you Klaus."

Caroline saw the irritated glare that her boyfriend was throwing at the new arrival and she decided it would be best to step in to help defuse the situation. Stepping in front of him, she put on her biggest friendliest smile before saying, "Hi, you must be Katherine."

Looking over at Klaus briefly before focusing on the blonde before her, Katherine nodded. "It seems my reputation precedes me, though I must say I'm surprised that Klaus mentioned little ol' me."

"Actually it was Rebekah. She talks about you a lot, well not you specifically but her family." Caroline answered. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Caroline by the way."

"Charmed." Katherine replied as she eyed the small boy, something Caroline noticed right away. "And this is my son Will, Will can you say hi to Katherine?"

Instead of doing as his mother instructed, he blurted out. "Bootiful."

A large smile, one that looked far more gentle and sincere than the one she had given Klaus, appeared on Katherine's face as she gazed at Will. "Aren't you a little charmer? You are definitely going to be my favorite nephew if you keep it up."

"Katherine," Klaus practically growled in warning at her insinuation but she only looked up at him, a mask of false innocence on her face. However before he could say more, another voice filled the room.

"Katerina, stop baiting Niklaus." The new arrival stated. "You will give Ms. Forbes a bad first impression of us."

By the proper speech and the expensive perfectly cut suit that the man was wearing, it was easy for Caroline to figure out that he was Elijah, the second eldest brother of the siblings and Katherine's husband. Rebekah had once told her that her brother seemed to have been born in the wrong century with the way he acted or spoke and she could already see why. "No, it's okay. It's what family does."

"True though it does not excuse Katherine and Niklaus' bad manners in front of a guest." Elijah declared as he walked towards her, extending his hand to her. "Elijah Mikaelson, and it is a pleasure to meet the woman and her son that my sister and brother speak so highly of."

Elijah's praise made the blush that had already been on her cheeks after Katherine's favorite nephew comment deepen, and Caroline smiled shyly as she reached out to take his hand. "Caroline Forbes."

Elijah bowed his head slightly towards her, before turning towards Klaus. "Mother is waiting for us in the dining room along with the others."

"We should not keep her waiting." Klaus replied while returning to Caroline's side, extending his arm for her to take so he could escort her into the lion's den. She smiled gratefully to him as she took it, letting him lead her after Elijah and Katherine towards the dining room. "My siblings will love you."

Caroline's eyes widened to twice their size at his statement, he had said his siblings but not the other member of his family. "What about your mother?"

Klaus opened his mouth to answer her but the sound of Rebekah and another female's voices filled the silence instead as it carried down the hall.

"All I'm saying Rebekah is that I think it is asinine to build a new house when you already have a grand one more befitting of yours and Stefan's status."

"As I already explained Mother, Stefan and I want a home that is our own, not some large cold manor filled with antiques that make it feel like a museum." Rebekah replied. "And as for our new house, it is not the little hovel you are making it sound like, which you would know if you had gone to see it when I suggested we go and see when you first got into town."

Due to the somewhat heated discussion between mother and daughter, Klaus, Will and Caroline's arrival had not been noticed, allowing Caroline to survey the room unnoticed. At one end of the table sat Stefan with Rebekah next to him and a dark haired young man, who she recognized as Henrik sitting on the irate blonde Mikealson-Salvatore's other side. Rebekah's other brothers, Finn, his wife Sage, and Kol were seated on the same side leaving the opposite one filled with empty chairs, one including a booster seat that Caroline would thank Rebekah for thinking of later, where she assumed, she, Klaus, Katherine and Elijah would be sitting. And finally opposite Stefan at the other end, was an older blonde woman that could only be the matriarch of the family, Esther. In looking at the attractive woman, Caroline could see easily that Rebekah and Klaus favored their mother though at the moment, Rebekah was probably not happy with that.

"Esther," Stefan jumped in, looking to try and soothe his wife while placating his mother in law. "While I understand your appreciation of the beauty of the house, it is after all my family house, Bekah and I feel that it is too much and too remote from town for us. With our jobs at the hospital, especially if I am on call, it is only logical that we move closer."

"I still believe it is a waste." Esther replied as she took a sip of her wine.

"Nonsense. We already have plans with our friend Lexi to turn the house into a bed and breakfast once our home is completed," Rebekah explained. "You might be surprised but Mystic Falls does actually has some events that draw visitors…"

"Sounds like little sister has gone native." Kol remarked teasingly but it earned a glare from Rebekah.

"All I am saying is that the town is growing, I mean it's large enough that even Nik has found something redeeming in it to want to stay around."

At that moment, Kol's eyes drifted away from his sister and focused on the new arrivals at the door and Caroline saw his eyes roaming over her before a mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Oh, I think I can see quite clearly what is keeping Nik around."

The others in the room turned their attention away from their conversation and looked to see what had drawn Kol's attention. As all eyes turned to them, Caroline suddenly felt like she was a bug under a magnifying glass, several with curiosity, one with contempt, and then Bekah and Stefan's eyes were filled with relief, most likely because their entrance was taking the focus off of her. Something that was demonstrated a moment later when the Mikaelson matriarch made her way towards them.

"Niklaus, I was beginning to wonder if you had forsaken dinner with your family for another event you had deemed more important." She said as she reached to embrace him.

Caroline noticed as he hugged his mother, how stiff Klaus' body was despite the small kiss he planted on her cheek. He was definitely not comfortable around his mother like she thought he would be.

"You're being overly dramatic mother, if you had not noticed, the clock on the wall says that we arrived several minutes before Bekah had stated that this little affair was to begin." Klaus informed her.

"Perhaps, though I would think that given we are in town for such a short time, you would want to spend as much time as you can with your family. I believe that I saw more of you when you lived over a thousand miles away in New Orleans, than only a few hundred here in Virginia." His mother half teased-half reprimanded him before her eyes lit up. "Speaking of visitors, I had the most delightful one just weeks ago, one who misses you Niklaus."

"Who might that be?"

"Genevieve."

Any measure of curiosity he had in regards to who had visited his mother vanished the moment that she told him who it was. He noticed that his response was not the one that she had wanted, most likely his mother preferred him showing some type of excitement though he felt quite the opposite. "I have no doubt that she misses me, though I doubt it is my actual person but my wallet."

"Niklaus, now who is the one being dramatic?" She asked. "I'm sure Genevieve was only doing as any girlfriend would, accepting her boyfriend's generosity."

"Yes, especially when it allowed her to live a life of leisure." Klaus stated. He saw that his mother wanted to argue more, but he chose to ignore it, instead sliding his hand along Caroline's back to move her forward as he introduced her. "Mother, this is Caroline Forbes, the woman I told you about, and her son Will. Caroline, this is my mother, Esther."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, and thank you very much for inviting us to dine with your family." Caroline said cordially, trying to give her nicest smile, one that the other woman barely returned. Instead Caroline could tell that Esther was looking her over, most likely scrutinizing her outfit but she didn't care. She had agonized over her clothes for days and there was nothing that Esther would be able to find wrong. She wore a pair of red denims, an understated gold top covered with a red sweater. No short skirt or showing too much skin for her that night.

"Yes, well I thought it was best to meet the girl who seems to have caught Niklaus' fancy." Esther replied nonchalantly. "Please sit, we do not want whatever Rebekah is serving to get cold now do we?"

Caroline nodded in agreement before moving toward the large table. Hurdle number one was done.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Dinner started off smoothly, more introductions were made and smalltalk started while the food began to come out. Though she knew a lot already, Caroline asked all of the polite questions to show that she was trying to find out more about the family and they returned in kind, inquiring about her as well as Will. She enjoyed talking to Sage, who seemed to enjoy talking to her as well thought Caroline wondered if perhaps the redhead just enjoyed having someone to talk to since her husband had barely spoken a word. Kol took some getting used to and had to be admonished by both Klaus and their mother to watch his language due to children being present. It wasn't until they were starting the the main course, that things began to get tense again.

It started due to a small thing, Klaus had rearranged Will's tiny silverware so that her left handed son would have his silverware in the correct hand to eat with. Caroline thought nothing of it. Klaus had been around them tons of times to eat and knew that Will needed the spoon, but she could see that Klaus' thoughtfulness did not sit well with Esther. Caroline thought that perhaps she didn't like seeing her son being so 'settled' with the newcomers. Either way she brushed it off and turned back to Will until she heard Esther speak.

"So Caroline my dear, Rebekah mentioned that the two of you met through her work?" Esther inquired.

Looking up from Will and his plate, where she'd been helping to get his mashed potatoes actually into his mouth, Caroline nodded. "Yes, I was working at the hospital as a receptionist, and Rebekah asked if I would be help her with an event she was working on."

"Asked?" Kol said surprised, a look of mirth on his face. "When has Bekah ever asked for anything?"

"Sod off. Many people find me quite pleasant." Rebekah glared at Kol, and looked as if she would like to hit him before rolling her eyes. "Okay, Caroline and I might not have gotten off to the friendliest of starts, but that has changed now of course."

"It must have, otherwise you wouldn't have fixed her up with Nik." Henrik commented, his mouth full of food.

"Henrik! Manners." Esther chastised.

"Bekah did not 'fix' me up with Caroline." Klaus argued, "She simply introduced us. Caroline was simply too enchanting for me not to want to see more of."

Caroline couldn't help but blush again at Klaus' flattering remark and she felt the heat in her cheeks double in embarrassment when she heard Esther say, "I am sure that she easily fell for your charms and what you can offer them, Niklaus. Any woman would, especially a young single mother."

"Mother…" Elijah interjected, trying to quash the line of conversation his mother was treading into, a very dangerous one if the look on his brother's face was any indication.

"As a mother myself I understand wanting what is best for your children and here is a man who can offer you so much; he has money, a decent job though he could do so much more, and is accepting of your child." Esther explained. "I meant it with no disrespect. So many young people are so quick to act, hopping into bed nowadays without thinking of the consequences, but Caroline is dealing with hers."

"I believe people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones." Klaus growled, anger giving his eyes a hardened look. How dare his mother of all people be so judgemental of how someone handled their sex life, considering she being married to Mikael had not kept her from jumping into bed with another man.

Now it was Finn's time to butt in. "Niklaus, show mother some respect."

"Like she is showing Caroline?" Klaus retorted angrily but calmed slightly when he felt Caroline's hand on his arm, having reached over Will who sat between them, to soothe him. He tore his gaze away from his brother to look at her but saw that her attention was not directed at him, she was looking at his mother.

"Will is not a 'consequence' that I am dealing with, he is my son. Who I have loved from the moment I found out about him, true he was a...surprise but aren't some of the best gifts surprises?" Caroline asked, her voice firm and not showing any sign of being intimidating by the older woman.

"And what of the boy's father?" Esther inquired. "From what my daughter tells me, he does not see him as much of a gift."

Red hot anger surged through Caroline's veins and it was all she could do to keep from lashing out at least physically, but she contained herself. "Yes, Tyler is not in Will's life, but that was his decision and his loss. My son does not need him if he doesn't want to be around, I can take care of and support Will on my own."

"But you are not supporting him on you own, are you?" Esther asked. "After all you live with your mother still."

"Because I chose to, not because I have to." Caroline stated. It was the truth, she had planned on getting an apartment for herself and Will before he was born, using the money her father had left her until her job would pay to support them. But her mother had stepped in and instead suggested that the two of them live with her; Caroline would take care of the house since Liz was always so wrapped up in work and saving the money she'd pay on rent to save for a house while Caroline got an extra hand with Will.

"As for your accusation about why I am dating Klaus, I would think that if I was the gold digger that you are implying me to be, then I would have go after my ex, the mayor's son for child support or to get him back. I would think that whatever I could get would be more than Klaus' salary."

Caroline felt proud of the way she had handled the situation, she had not lost her temper though she had desperately wanted to, but when she saw a spark of something in Esther's eyes, she wasn't so sure.

"Well Niklaus," Esther began, turning her attention to her children. "It seems that you and Rebekah have not been completely honest to Caroline about our family."

Caroline's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked at Klaus to try and get an explanation. "What is she talking about?"

Klaus glared at his mother instead of answering Caroline's question. "Mother, you assume too much."

"Am I?" She asked, her eyebrows raising in question. "I find it quite interesting that you had not mentioned anything to Caroline about our family fortune."

"Fortune?" Caroline repeated.

Esther nodded. "Yes, my dear. Despite my late husband's failings, he was quite the business man and was able to cultivate quite the fortune to provide for our family, well provided."

"Which shockingly enough, he somehow managed not to gamble or drink away before his death." Klaus declared angrily. "Of course that was due to you and a team of lawyers, it would be a shame for you to actually have to provide for yourself."

"I did what needed to be done to ensure security for our family." Esther snapped back, not appreciating the tone in her son's voice. "Your irritation on the subject as well as your unwillingness to comment on your reasons for not telling Caroline about it is quite telling. Could it be that you yourself also had doubts about her intentions towards you if she knew? That she would be even more intent to…"

"That's enough Mother!" Klaus yelled as his hand came down to slam on the table, startling everyone surrounding it including Will who began to cry.

Caroline quickly moved to soothe her son, undoing the straps of the booster seat before pulling him into her arms and standing. She quietly muttered some excuses before leaving the room. As soon as she was through the door, Caroline could hear the room erupting into chaos but she didn't want to hear it. Thankfully the Salvatore house was large enough that she could easily put several rooms between herself and the dining room without having to go into the more private areas of the house.

By the time she reached the library, Will's cries had lessened to whimpers but she hugged him close. "It's okay baby, it's okay."

After a few minutes of soothing words and her rubbing his back, Will started to squirm. "Mama, down."

The moment she set it his little feet on the floor, Will scrambled away to explore, the distress he'd been feeling moments before forgotten. Unfortunately, Caroline's own feelings were not so quickly calmed. Embarrassment, anger, and hurt all churned inside of her and she blinked to keep the welling tears at bay. She knew if she let them fall, it could just upset Will again and she didn't want that. She was so focused on that task that she didn't hear someone joining them until Klaus spoke. "Caroline, what my mother said, it isn't true."

"Which part? That your family is apparently rich or at least well off or that you intentionally kept it from me?" Caroline questioned him, the hurt in her voice evident even to her own ears. She couldn't help it, she didn't want to believe that Klaus had doubted her feelings towards him but the fact that he hadn't told her threw up red flags to her.

"I didn't intentionally keep it from you." Klaus declared as he stepped forward, attempting to touch her but instead she pulled away.

"The fact that you didn't say anything tells me that some part of you believes what your mother accused me of." She stated, this time her voice barely above the sound of a whisper.

Klaus reared back a bit, almost as if her words had struck him. "Do you really think that low of me? If you remember correctly Caroline, I'm the one who pursued you, not the other way around. If I truly thought that you would want me solely for my monetary worth when you found out, do you think I would still have been so determined to get you to go out with me?"

"No." Caroline replied. "So why didn't you ever say anything if you didn't think it would matter to me? Which it doesn't by the way. I just want you to hear me say it."

Running a hand through his hair in frustration, not at Caroline but at the situation, Klaus let out a deep sigh. "This was never supposed to be some big secret. In the beginning, I just assumed you knew due to your friendship with Rebekah. I later realized that you just thought her lifestyle was due to Stefan's family."

"So you didn't think of bringing it up then?"

"I did not see the point or that it was important. You see, what my mother failed to mention is that I haven't spent a dime of my family's money for several years. I made money of my own through selling my art in New Orleans and Chicago." He explained, pausing for a moment before continuing. "And...you've made such an issue out of our age difference over the months we've been seeing each other that…"

"You didn't want me to make a big deal out of it." Caroline said finishing for him. His admission made her feel slightly embarrassed, only because what he had said was true. She most likely would have done just as he said, her insecurities would have gotten the better of her. Moving forward to take his hand, hoping he would not pull away like she had just minutes before, she laced her fingers through his. "Sorry I kind of lost it there."

Bringing up the hand not tangled with hers, Klaus ran his fingers down her cheek before saying. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything so that you would be prepared for dealing with my mother. I should have known she would try something like this."

"Well everyone wants to give their family the benefit of the doubt and believe that they will be or act the way they want." Caroline stated as she reached up to take his hand from her face, holding both of them in hers. Taking a deep breath, she decided to talk to him about something else that had been on her mind the last few minutes. "And I understand that she angered you, beyond angered you, but Klaus, I can't have you lashing out like that around Will. It's not the environment I want him in, to be scared of those around him."

Klaus nodded in understanding before lowering his eyes guiltily. "I do not want that either, for him or you to ever be scared of me. I know too well what that kind of childhood is like and I would not want any child to have to feel that way. I am sorry, I hope you can forgive my actions."

"I can." She replied, his eyes snapping back up to meet hers at her response. "Just don't do it again. I care about you, very much so but I will always put him first."

"I would never hurt either one of you, I hope you know that." Klaus promised. When he saw Caroline nod, he let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and squeezed her hands tightly. He would never be like the man who raised him, never.

The sound of a loud squeal coming from Will, followed by the sound of two objects being slammed together broke the tense serious moment. The couple turned their attentions to Will who had his little hands wrapped around two knick knacks that he'd obviously found sitting on the nearby table and had decided it was fun to smash them together.

"No no, sweetie." Caroline chastised as she raced forward to rescue the items from her son's destruction. "Let's not destroy Rebekah and Stefan's things okay. They aren't as durable as your toys."

Will loudly protested when his entertainment was taken from him before his mouth settled into a pout that Klaus recognized instantly as one he'd see on Caroline's face before. "Don't be sad little man, how about we make it up to you by taking you home so you can play with stuff that you can destroy?"

"Are you sure about that?" Caroline asked though she was relieved that he had suggested them leaving. She really didn't want to hang around there at the moment. "I mean your family…"

Klaus just shrugged. "I can come back and see them tomorrow. My siblings will understand, and I really could not care what my mother thinks at the moment. I'll go now, say my farewells and gather your bag then we'll go."

Caroline nodded. "I will get him bundled up and wait for you in the foyer."

"I'll be quick." Klaus promised as he gave her a quick kiss then left the room.

Within a few minutes, Caroline had both her and Will's coats retrieved and was buttoning him up when she heard footsteps behind her. Thinking it was Klaus she didn't look back as she said, "Ready to make our escape?"

"Niklaus is still making excuses for your sudden departures." She heard Esther say. Picking up her son, she turned to face the woman as the older woman continued. "I just wanted to seek you out to say good-bye and tell you that I hope that we will see each other again, Caroline."

Knowing that Esther did not mean a word of her last statement, Caroline looked at her with a frown. "I'm sure you are counting the days."

"Such hostility."

"Hostility? I wonder why that could be." Caroline declared, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Perhaps it's the fact that despite the fact that you told Klaus that you wanted to meet me and get to know me, you didn't plan to do either one of those things. You had already made up your mind about me before I even arrived and I'm pretty sure nothing short of a miracle could have changed that."

"A mother only wants what is best for their children." Esther stated. "From what I have seen of you, you would understand that more than anyone."

"I do." Caroline agreed, ignoring the backhanded compliment before she went on. "I get that I'm probably not the type of woman that you pictured your son with, but who he dates is his choice, not yours therefore his opinion is the only one that truly matters to me. He cares about me and I care about him and we are happy together. Isn't part of wanting what is best is wanting to see your child happy?"

The only answer she received from Esther was the older woman pursing her lips and Caroline simply sighed in disappointment. "You can continue to disapprove but it's not going to change things and you can either accept it or don't."

Choosing that moment to reappear, Klaus appeared from behind his mother a look of suspicion on his face as he looked at her before he turned a questioning gaze to Caroline. "Ready to go love?"

Beaming a smile at him, Caroline nodded and he moved to open the door. "Good night Mother, enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Good night Niklaus." Esther said, speaking for the first time in several minutes before flicking her gaze to Caroline. "And good night again to you, Caroline."

Caroline noticed a peculiar look on Klaus' face at that moment but overlooked it for the moment as she said her own goodbye and stepped out of the house. With Klaus' hand on her back, leading her and Will back to her car she decided to ask him about it. "What was that at the end? You had an odd look on your face."

"I was just trying to figure out the puzzle that is my mother." He explained. "After making a mess out of dinner, I could have sworn she looked at you with esteem, perhaps even respect."

Though she was pretty sure that her eyebrows had risen up to her hairline in surprise, Caroline also had a small smile on her face at what he said. Maybe Esther didn't like her, but her not outright hating her was a start.

So good? Bad? I'm sorry that I couldn't incorporate more of the Mikaelson family dynamics but like I said, it kind of took it's own course. Considering I've been having issues writing on this series, I had to go with it.