A/N: I'm back with another chapter! Thanks for all the comments and love for the last one! This goes out to everyone who has reviewed or favourite this story! It means so much to me! Thank you all!

Enjoy!

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Klaus should have known better that to think that Marcel would simple leave him alone after their argument. His protégé wasn't the type that liked being upstaged and so when Klaus' phone buzzed with a new text from Marcel he was more frustrated than surprised.

Things with Caroline were better, he was trying to get her to open up and let him in again. Proving to her she could trust him like she used to. Klaus wondered what Caroline would say if she knew about Marcel? Whether she would support him or push him further away again.

He knew where she was coming from, her childhood hardly being a happy, healthy one. Caroline told him once she hadn't spoken to her father in years and knew little about him after he walked out on her and her mom when she was a girl. Caroline's mother was a sheriff but the two were never close, Caroline told him that while she loved her mother they had very little in common. Naturally when Caroline moved to the big city to study Law she drifted away from her mother even more. The two barely exchanged more than an odd phone call every couple of months now.

Caroline was pushing him away because she was protecting herself, she was protecting Liam. Klaus got that, it still hurt like hell when she would close up and retreat though. Klaus knew he wouldn't stop trying to get through to her again, to break down every defence she had built around herself because she didn't deserve to need them. Klaus always hated how use to hurting she was and he vowed to be her best defence against anything that wished her harm.

He just never foresaw himself hurting her like this.

Klaus ignored Marcel's text as well as all the others his former partner sent him over the next few days. Instead he focused on Liam and his family and learning all the things he missed out on. Marcel's words floated around in the back of his mind often, doubt creeping into thoughts. Would he mess everything up again? Would he end up back where he started, running the city with a ruthless attitude?

Klaus hoped not.

It was late afternoon a few days later when Marcel decided to get proactive. Klaus felt his blood boil at the sight of his protégé on his doorstep with a cheap smirk, dressed in black like he was trying to prove he was the worst man. Klaus grit his teeth as Marcel pushed passed him into the house, thankful he was alone for this encounter.

"Sorry for the intrusion, I didn't think this was a conversation you wanted to have on the doorstep." Marcel smirked as he rested on the back of the couch, crossing his arms over his jacket.

"I thought I made it clear by not answering your messages that I didn't want to be having this conversation at all." Klaus commented drily, standing firmly in front of Marcel.

Marcel smiled, "What you think you can waltz back in here and tell me you're done and that's it?" he questioned, "We don't care. We don't feel. Remember?"

"Yet here you are."

"We're family, Klaus. You don't walk away from that." Marcel replied.

Klaus' eyes hardened, "I have a family, Marcellus. One I have no intention of losing."

"That's why I'm here, to give you a proposition." Marcel explained as he stood up off the back of the couch, standing closer to Klaus, "You do this last job with me and we're even. We're done. You can go and paint landscapes and go to soccer games and you'll never see me again."

Klaus sighed, standing deadly close to Marcel as a form of intimidation, one he knew was very effect from his business days. His eyes were dark and cold, "No." he said roughly though it came out as a harsh affirmation.

Marcel stumbled slightly as Klaus knocked past him but recovered quickly, spinning round to face him, "Wrong answer," he smiled maliciously, "Trust me when I say I don't want to do this but you have left me with no choice."

Klaus frowned, rising an eyebrow in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"I need you to help me pull this job off, Klaus. It's not negotiable."

"And if I don't?" He challenged crossing his arms as he cocked his head to one side.

"I'll go after that family you care so much about." Marcel promised, "Your girl's hot, bet she's feisty in the bedroom. Your son's cute too, I wonder how he would feel with no parents?"

Klaus threw a fast punch, Marcel's nose crunching under his hand. Marcel barely had enough time to recover before Klaus' hands were on the collar of his shirt, his back slammed against the wall. Blood was pouring from his nose, staining Klaus' knuckles and his grey Henley as Marcel coughed and spluttered at him.

"What makes you think I won't kill you before you can get anywhere near them?" Klaus asked with venom, practically spitting out the words as his grip on Marcel tightened.

"Because you know I'm not stupid. I wouldn't have come here if I didn't have a plan. You've been away for a long time, Klaus. I've kept a close eye on Caroline and the rest of your family. If anything happens to me, my guys know exactly whose body will get found next." Marcel said, his mouth red with blood as he smiled.

Klaus sighed in anger, torn between tearing out Marcel's liver and protecting his family, "All of this just because you need help on a job?"

"You always said love is the greatest weakness there is. It seems you've contradicted yourself." Marcel laughed.

"I'll kill you and everyone you have ever met if you so much as harm a hair…"

Marcel cut him off, "Except I don't care or feel, remember? I followed your rules." He replied, "And as long as you follow mine your family never have to know about your brief stint back in my neck of the woods."

Klaus laughed then, "I don't follow orders. Especially not yours."

"But you will for them. Because you know that's the only thing that will keep your family safe and together." Marcel pointed out.

Checkmate.

That's what it came down to in the end, why Marcel was always the best and worst opponent Klaus could have.

He knew him.

He knew how Klaus worked, he knew what lengths Klaus would go to and how far he was willing to go.

Marcel knew about Klaus' weakness. He knew about Caroline and now Liam as well.

"What's the job?" Klaus sighed in defeat, pushing Marcel harshly away from him, making sure he hit the wall again with some force.

Marcel groaned slightly at the impact as one hand came up to wipe the blood from his nose, "Just a routine shipment of firearms. Silas will meet us at the docks to buy them, all we need to do is make sure the shipment gets delivered."

"But they will have tightened security due to my arrest so you have no way of getting the shipment into the country, do you?" Klaus concluded with a smirk. "That's why you need me."

"Twenty-four-seven security on the docks and a routine patrol at night. I can't take them out by myself, not to mention all the cameras the police have installed. I have my guys recording every camera they know but there are still blind spots." Marcel replied with a sigh, wiping his face over his black shirt.

Klaus ran a hand through his hand, "We need to be sure before the shipment gets sent over. I'm not getting send back to prison because you're guys didn't cover every blind spot."

"Don't worry, I trust them with my life."

"I don't." Klaus cut in, "If I am doing this I'm bringing in someone I trust. Clearly that isn't you anymore."

"Bring in whoever you like, Klaus. Just help me do the damn job. For the safety of your family if nothing else."

Klaus' eyes narrowed, "I'll do it. But when we're done here you better disappear from this town and sleep with your eyes open. I don't like being manipulated, Marcellus, don't think you don't end up like everyone else before you who betrayed me."

"Does Caroline know about them? What you do to help who betray you? I would hate for her to end up like that." Marcel said clicking his tongue.

"I would never hurt her."

"There's more than one way to hurt someone, Klaus. You taught me that."

/

Klaus had spent over an hour in the shower, scrubbing all traces of blood from his knuckles until they was red raw. A part of him was trying to wash away the all conversation with Marcel away too but he knew that wasn't going to happen.

He told Caroline he was done with that life, he wanted to be done with that life but apparently Marcel had other ideas. If Caroline knew he wasn't even out of jail for a month and was back doing what he use to Klaus knew he would lose her. For good, she didn't want Liam growing up around that and neither did Klaus.

It was ironic how the one thing he was doing to keep his safe family was always the sole thing that could tear it apart.

As soon as he exited his bedroom, pulling a clean shirt over his head the smell of muffins hit him. He smiled slightly at that, following the scent down the stairs to the kitchen. Klaus propped himself up on the doorframe as he watched Caroline work. She was humming to herself as she stirred the mixture in the bowl, another batch of muffins in the oven cooking behind her.

Klaus smiled brightly at the familiar sight. She had always loved baking.

He groaned as she shifted onto his side in bed, not feeling the usual weight against his chest. Klaus reached out a hand across the bed where Caroline should be to pull her closer to him but instead of encountering her warm naked skin, his fingers found the cold wrinkled sheets of their bed.

Klaus frowned as he opened his eyes, taking in the bedroom door which was wide out and the soft glow of the light on down the hallway.

"Caroline?" he called out sleepily as he sat up in bed, he sighed before climbing out of the warm covers. His feet hit the cold floor below and Klaus shivered slightly, grabbing his boxers from where they were discarded early that night and slipping them on.

He found her in the kitchen, the radio playing softly in the background as she twirled around to a song he didn't know. Klaus smiled, watching her from the doorway as she bend down to check the oven, cake mix and kitchen appliances covering the work side. Caroline hadn't noticed him, her eyes focused on whatever she was cooking. She was wearing his shirt and her bright blue panties, her legs bare as she retrieved the tray from the oven.

Klaus snuck over to her quickly, waiting until she put the tray down before enveloping her into his arms from behind, "Midnight snack?" he inquired kissing her neck. Caroline let out a giggle as she leaned back into him.

"Well it's been a bad day and chocolate chip cookies always make things better." Caroline explained, picking up a warm cookie with her hands before taking a bite.

"You don't need to worry about your exam, love. You'll be brilliant." Klaus replied, "You're too stressed."

Caroline laughed, "After all the stress relief we just did, that's hard to believe."

She offered him a bite of her cookie and Klaus bite into it, the warm cookie tasting like heaven in his mouth. She was a remarkable cook, even if she did cook at weird times.

"So cooking at one in the morning makes you feel better?" Klaus teased.

Caroline turned round in his arms, her own looping around his neck as she swallowed the last bit of cookie, "Sex with you and chocolate chip cookies. Is there anything better?"

Klaus kissed her hard, his tongue tasting the chocolate on her lips and in her mouth as Caroline returned his kiss. Her hands were lost in his hair and she barely registered it when her back bumped into the countertop behind her.

"What do you say we take these cookies back to bed with us?" Klaus asked softly with a smirk.

"I like the way you think." She winked at him before grabbing a handful of cookies. Klaus followed suit, grabbing his own handful before leading her back to bed.

They ate cookies in bed in the dark, Klaus sitting up against the headboard as Caroline's legs were thrown over his under the covers. They talked and laughed, sharing their hoard of cookies before Klaus couldn't resist rolling her under him, and Caroline wrapped her legs around him.

"I really like the way you think." She laughed as he kissed her again, both of them giving into their desires.

"Bad day?" Klaus asked from the doorway, pushing all thoughts of the past to the back of his brain. Caroline spun around, giving him a weary smile as she saw him.

"Hey, I wasn't sure if anyone was home." She said as she poured the mixture into muffin cases, "I forget I needed to bake for Liam's school tomorrow so Elijah let me go early to get them done."

"What are you making?" Klaus asked curiously.

Caroline smiled, "Blueberry muffins." He could see a hint of blush on her cheeks.

Klaus smirked, "My favourite." They both knew it.

"Liam's as well. He requested them."

The timer cut off their conversation, reminding Caroline she was in the middle of a task as she spun round to grab the oven gloves off the side. Klaus watched as she removed the blueberry muffins from the oven, the tray slipping slightly in her hands. Caroline placed it down roughly on the side before tearing the oven gloves off her hands.

"Jesus." She cursed as she held her left hand in her right.

Klaus was over to her in a flash, "What's wrong?"

"I burned my hand on the tray, I'm fine." She insisted but Klaus ignored her. He led her over to the skin, placing their hands under as he turned on the cold water. Klaus kept his hand on hers, rubbing the skin of her hand slightly as the water ran down their fingers.

"Thank you." She smiled sheepishly.

Klaus smiled back, "Always."

His hand left hers gently as he took the muffins off the baking tray, placing them into the container Caroline had ready. He grabbed the last one, taking a bite out of it with a smirk.

Caroline scowled at him, "Those are meant to be for the bake sale." She reminded him as she turned off the water and dried her hands.

"There's still as good as I remember." Klaus smiled, "You know I love your cooking, sweetheart."

"Well at least I made extra." She smiled as she started cleaning up the side, dumping things into the skin before wiping her cheek.

Klaus took another bite of his muffin before offering some to Caroline. She looked at him for a moment before smiling. She moved closer, taking a bite. She moaned as she chewed.

"I am good." She smirked as she swallowed.

Klaus laughed, placing the muffin down as one of his hands came up to her cheek, his thumb swiping across her cheekbone. Caroline froze, her eyes wide.

"What are you doing?" She asked softly, her voice small.

Klaus smiled, "You had flour on your cheek, love."

Caroline relaxed into his touch as Klaus continued stroking her cheek softly, his fingers splayed out so he was cupping her face. His eyes were locked onto her own blue ones, following them as he stepped closer to her. Caroline's eyes closed for a moment as she took a deep breath, when she opened her eyes she stepped back gently, Klaus' hand slipping from her face.

"I need to make a second batch." She muttered distractedly.

Klaus nodded, "I'll pick Liam up so you have time to finish these off." He replied and was rewarded by a small smile from Caroline before he left the room, the rest of his muffin uneaten on the side.

/

Caroline retreated to her safe haven after making the second batch of blueberry muffins, only allowing herself a moment to breathe when she was safely locked in her office at Mikaelson and Associates. She was cursing herself for being a coward and running away from Klaus yet again but it seemed to be her default setting.

She wanted to trust him, every time she looked into his stormy blue eyes she saw him pleading with her for another chance and Caroline wanted to give it to him. She wanted to give him; them another shot at forever yet she was petrified.

Of losing him, of him leaving again. Klaus promised he was here to stay and Caroline knew if he had his way then he would keep his word but that was the problem. He couldn't make a promise like that because it wasn't in his control to keep it.

Still, there had been a moment between them in the kitchen earlier. A moment that felt as natural and electric as they use to between them. That look he gave her where Caroline could swear he saw right through to her soul. His lips parted slightly like he was imagining the feeling of her own against them.

Caroline shivered at the thought, a simple kiss with Klaus was always more than a simple kiss. It felt like something was exploding inside her, a drug that was calling out for Klaus making her pull him closer until they were wrapped up in each other. Caroline had never had that raw need and burning desire with anyone else and she knew she never would again.

Klaus' love consumed her and she liked it, hell she gave as good as she got.

That was fine will there were living in a bubble where nothing could hurt them but Caroline knew better now, she knew would pain and hurt and abandonment felt like and she didn't think she was strong enough to go through that again.

Then there was Liam, four years old and in the short amount of time he had known Klaus, Caroline knew her son was very attached to his father. Only yesterday did she find them together working on another piece of artwork, Klaus showing Liam little tips he had learnt along the way.

Having a child together only made things more complicated and Caroline knew she had to be sure before she started anything with Klaus again. Liam would be thrilled if they were together but he would be equally disheartened if down the line they broke up. The problem was that Caroline was a big mess of emotions and trying to figure out her feelings was proving difficult, Klaus being around her all the time was not helping her thoughts.

A knock at her office door caused her to jump, too wrapped up in her own head to notice her surroundings. She instantly calmed down as she saw Jesse through the glass, his face relaxed and confident.

"Jesse, what's up?" She asked as she quickly unlocked the door, a professional smile on her face.

Jesse walked in with his eyebrows raised, "Was the door locked?"

"I had a bit of a headache." Caroline replied, "Are those for me?" She asked nodding to the files in his hand.

He shook his head, "Nope, these are for Elijah. I was just coming to check on you after the other night with your ex."

"Sorry about Klaus, he's a little… intense." Caroline said with an uneasy laugh.

"I get it, there's history there and you have Liam." Jesse nodded, "No offence though, the guy's a bit of a jerk."

"He's overprotective. Annoyingly so but he's a good guy at heart." Caroline said in response, her eyes not meeting Jesse's as she spoke.

He nodded thoughtfully, "Listen the annual charity event thing is coming up in a few weeks and Elijah is making everyone attend so I was wondering if you wanted to go together?" he asked somewhat shyly, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Caroline paused, the question throwing her through a loop, "Oh…"

"Or we can grab dinner somewhere, I know a great Thai restaurant." Jesse continued, "I like you Caroline, a lot."

She swallowed thickly, clearing her throat and tried to pretend everything was normal, "Jesse I don't think that's a great idea. My life is such a mess right now and I need to focus on Liam and everything. It's just really bad timing."

"It's Klaus, isn't it? You won't go out with me because you are still in love with him." Jesse concluded.

Caroline didn't know how to answer, Klaus was the first thought that flashed through her mind when Jesse had asked her out but did she still love him? She tried not to think about those feelings, choosing to block them out was easier.

"I don't…" She trailed off.

Jesse nodded, "I get it, Caroline. He's your epic love. I can't compete with that, no one can."

He left her alone again and Caroline collapsed into the nearest chair, a dumb-folded expression on her face. One question going through her mind at one hundred miles per hour.

Was Jesse right?

/

So what do you think? Favourite line/scene? Let me know

Please review! They mean a lot to me and really keep me writing! Thank you all!

Next time we have a cute family moment and we find out Elijah's secret1