Since I have been such a tease with Klaroline action, I decided to be generous and provide you with this. I think you'll enjoy it immensely. I know I keep saying I can't keep up with the posting I've set myself on, but I'm thoroughly enjoying writing this story and seeing your reactions. I just want to write and write and write. Please review and enjoy!

Chapter 5

Klaus ushered Caroline through the front door of his home and closed the door behind them. When he turned back around into the foyer, he chuckled at the sight of Caroline standing in the middle of the foyer, eyes wide with delight. A long, narrow staircase hugged the left side of the hall leading up to the second story, while a long hallway on the right led into the back of the house. The floor was gray and white granite with a black border lining the edge of the room. The walls were painted a light gray with white wooden trim at the bottom. The wall on the right of the hallway was decorated with a scenery of elephants, camels, and tigers in a tropical jungle from a time long ago. A gorgeous, tiered copper chandelier hung from the ceiling giving the foyer a warm glow.

"Like what you see, love?"

"I thought your mansion in Mystic Falls was incredible, but this is something else entirely. I feel like I've been taken somewhere else in time. Tell me the rest of this place is equally as beautiful."

"I don't think there can be anything quite as beautiful as yourself, but let's take a look and you can decide on your own."

Caroline blushed at his words. She'd forgotten how freely he gave out compliments when they were together and the sensation in her stomach that came with each said compliment. Before, his compliments had made her both uneasy and flattered, she wasn't quite sure how to react to them. Now, she realized he had meant every word of flattery he'd spoken to her and she found herself waiting for the next one. They made their way down the hallway, settling into comfortable silence. Caroline noticed there had been a closed door immediately to her right as she had entered the house and a little further down, another door opened into a room. As they passed by, Caroline stuck her head in and gasped at the room within. A large double parlor took up the front two rooms of the house immediately to the right of the entrance hall. The walls in these rooms were painted a light mint green accented by a rich, golden-red hardwood floor. Two more crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings of both rooms and the French-style furniture was upholstered in light pastels and simple floral patterns. Paintings hung the wall at artistic intervals and Caroline noticed they matched the room exquisitely. "Yours, I assume?" Caroline asked, gesturing to the various frames.

"Of course. Would you expect anything less?" Klaus's grin stated he was pleased Caroline recognized the art for his own. "Come into the den. I'll get you a drink and you can relax."

Caroline followed Klaus through to the back of the house, passing through a small, intimate dining room. The den's style also followed the same French-classical theme, but the furniture was more inviting and less formal, with a large heather colored, heavy-duty cotton couch and a plush armchair. The doors of the den opened into a rectangular patio filled with small trees, plants, and flowers. Caroline could see through to the kitchen from the den. She looked around and saw Klaus standing in the doorframe, in his usual stance, looking almost anxious as she looked around his home. "It's smaller than the house we kept in Mystic Falls, but it suits our purposes. There's four bedrooms and Rebekah has the third floor entirely to herself and Elijah's room has it's own entrance from the garden. I have a studio off my bedroom on the second floor."

"It's beautiful. It suits you all to a T and blends in wonderfully with the French Quarter. I wouldn't expect anything less." Caroline's words were honest and true. She'd never seen a more beautiful home and she had to quickly squash the vision of herself living here, in case her color rose up again and Klaus asked her what she was thinking about.

At the obvious acceptance and approval of his home, Klaus visibly relaxed and walked further into the room to stand before her. Gods, she was beautiful, Klaus thought to himself, as he looked her up and down. Caroline was standing comfortably, legs apart and shifted to the left and her arms crossed casually across her body. Her hair was down to the her shoulders, falling in natural, light waves. And her eyes were looking up at his, sparkling with mischief and a small glimmer of happiness. It was the first time Klaus had seen an emotion other than confusion marring her blue eyes and gave his dead heart a lurch at the thought that she was pleased to see and be here with him.

He reached up hesitantly to push back a fall of hair that was obstructing the side of her face. She didn't pull back from his action, only tensed slightly at the contact of his hand on her hair. Klaus swept his fingertips lightly down the length of her hair, marveling at the softness of the strands. Caroline began nervously chewing on her bottom lip as the two of them stared at each other; Klaus's attention was drawn to said lip and soon all he was thinking about was cancelling dinner and taking Caroline somewhere private. He didn't want to share her with his own family tonight. The two of them had a lot of catching up to do. Just as Klaus was about to grab Caroline's hand and take her upstairs to his studio, Rebekah walked in.

"God Nik, you'd think you'd been deprived of blood the last five years with the way you're looking at Caroline right now. She's not on the menu this evening."

"Ah, but that's where you are wrong little sister. I have been deprived the last five years. Of Caroline's company, to be sure, but that's a long time to go without interaction with this fetching young lady. And who's to say she won't be on the menu in the future?" Klaus's smirk was both mischievous and delighted at his own wit.

Both Caroline and Rebekah gasped at his last remark, Rebekah looking revolted and Caroline blushing furiously. Caroline smacked his arm lightly, "Behave! Or I won't come over anymore and then you'd have to deal with Rebekah being pissed off at you."

"My little sister is usually displeased with me, it wouldn't be any different from the norm. But, I'll stop if it means you continue to join us."

"For all our sakes, please," Rebekah replied, "I'm not going to stomach dinner if you can't keep your googly eyes to yourself Nik."

"I never ogle at anyone."

"Look at yourself in the mirror tonight and then come back to me proving they aren't protruding out of your sockets."

"Rebekah, your snark is wearing my patience thin..."

"Ah, what would Sunday dinner be without the two of you biting each other's heads of?. Caroline, it's a pleasure to see you once again. I'm sorry you've been caught in the middle of my sibling's bickering."

Elijah had just walked into the den from the patio, dressed impeccably as always in a tailored suit. Caroline didn't know the oldest Mikaelson sibling very well, but she knew Elena and Stefan had always held him in high regard because of his moral compass. Caroline smiled as she responded, "It's lovely to see you again as well. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

"As am I. Niklaus needs someone outside of his family to hold him to a higher standard. Now that we're all here, shall we eat?"

The four of them went into the dining room Caroline had walked through earlier and she wasn't surprised to see that it was as elegant as the rest of the house. A light cherry wood, oval table set for four stood in the center under a tear-drop, crystal chandelier. A matching dining buffet stood on the right wall across from one of Klaus's larger landscapes. The walls were painted a light, creamy beige and the bay window at the head of the room hung with coral drapes completed the picture. Caroline noticed the colors were warmer and lighter in this house versus the Mikaelson mansion back in Mystic Falls. "The house here seems a lot brighter than the one you had in Mystic Falls," she commented.

"Because of the closeness of the French Quarter, we'd be immersed in darkness if we didn't have these rooms painted this way," Rebekah explained. "The upstairs rooms are more similar to what you'd remember, but down here we needed to have some light. Klaus was all for dark and moody throughout the house, but as you can see, I won that argument."

"It certainly makes a difference." laughed Caroline, picturing the discussion in her head.

They sat down to eat, Klaus and Elijah at the respective heads of the table, Caroline and Rebekah between them on the sides. As soon as Caroline put her napkin in her lap, a young woman began placing plates of food on the table. A large roast, green beans, potatoes, sauces for dipping, and bread. Caroline's stomach growled at the smell of the food and picked up a familiar scent in a tall crystal jug on her right. She laughed at the sight of the blood in it's fancy presentation and glanced to her right at Klaus. "I don't think I've ever seen blood presented so nicely."

"Much nicer than drinking from a blood bag, I can promise you that."

Caroline chuckled and set about filling her plate and glass with helpings from every plate and jug. There was also a nice bottle of wine opened for Elijah, Rebekah, and Caroline to enjoy along with dinner; Klaus preferred to drink his scotch. Dinner was a relaxed and easy affair, despite the formal presentation, and Caroline found herself falling easily into stride with the Mikaelson family. Elijah asked her questions about Mystic Falls and her time spent at UVA, curious in her courses of study and life spent as a "normal" college student. She laughed when Rebekah scrunched her nose up at the process of rush and bantered with her lightly over the pros and cons of sorority life. Rebekah thought it was impossible for that many girls to pretend to get along with one another, while Caroline argued the networking benefits of a large organization and the bonds of sisterhood that form close friendships. All the while, Klaus sat silently at the head of the table, watching as Caroline interacted with his family.

It pleased him that she could fit so seamlessly with them, even after a five year separation. He could tell Elijah approved of her and even Rebekah was coming around. He idly swirled the contents of his glass around as he contemplated his state of emotions. He was happier than he'd been in ages and all of it was attributed to Caroline's arrival in New Orleans. Even though Klaus hadn't seen her in almost a week, he was giddy at the prospect of her being within the same vicinity once more. Dinner wound down and Klaus drank the last of the scotch in his glass before placing it on the table, pushing back his chair, and extending his hand to Caroline. "Come with me, love. There's something I'd like you to see."

Caroline blushed again, and threw a quelling look at Rebekah, who was trying hard not to smirk, as she placed her hand in Klaus's. Elijah gave his younger brother a small nod before Klaus drew her out of the dining room, into the foyer and up the stairs to the second story. They wound about the stairs and Klaus took her through the second door on Caroline's left. She breathed a sigh of relief at finding herself in Klaus's studio, but then remembered his earlier remark about said studio being off his bedroom. She looked around nervously and saw two closed doors, one on the wall to her right and one on the wall behind her. Caroline drew a deep breath and tried to focus on the room around her.

Rebekah had been right, the color scheme here was much more reminiscent of the darker theme used in the mansion in Mystic Falls. It was still lighter, but the walls were painted a mossy green and dark furniture accented the room. The room was dominated by a number of easels on which paintings in various states of completion stood. There was a large desk in the corner by the fireplace and doors leading out to the balcony, with stacks of sketchbooks and loose sheets of paper. Caroline looked around the room and remembered a conversation in a similar room from a long time ago.

"Wait a second. Did... did you do these?"

"Yea, umm... actually one of my landscapes in hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice. Have you been?"

"I've never really been anywhere."

"I'll take you. Wherever you want... Rome... Paris... Tokyo."

How far they'd come since that evening. Caroline briefly wondered what happened to the bracelet she threw heedlessly at Klaus's feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the snowflake painting that Klaus had put on display the night he killed Carol Lockwood. She quickly turned away from it and walked over to the desk where she began sifting through the loose sheets of paper. She gasped when she came to a drawing she knew particularly well. It was an exact copy of the small sketch Klaus had given her the night of the ball. She noticed there were several other small drawings of her faces in the same pile and Caroline gathered them up in a stack and turned to grin at Klaus. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

He smiled and looked guilty at being caught drawing her likeness. He walked over to where she stood and put his hand lightly at her waist to turn her back to the desk. Caroline felt the slight pressure of Klaus's hand over her entire body and trembled slightly at her sensitivity to his touch. Keeping his hand at her waist, he reached over to grab a small journal in the corner and handed it to her wordlessly. The smile on his face was gone and he looked as though he was battling himself on his decision. Caroline could only guess what the notebook contained. She opened the journal and turned the pages slowly.

On every page was a small sketch of a young boy, from infanthood to what Caroline assumed to be his current age. The child was beautiful. He looked exactly like Klaus, there was no trace of Hayley in him and Caroline turned the pages fascinated. She noticed that Klaus had only drawn little Kol, Hayley wasn't present anywhere in the sketches. She looked up at him and saw his eyes were apprehensive; Klaus was certain she would become angry at evidence of his and Hayley's union. Caroline closed the journal and laid a soft hand on his shoulder, "He's beautiful. Sophie was right, he is a gift. I would love to be able to meet him. You must be very proud."

Klaus sigh was heavy with relief. "I am. He's quite the handful at times, but he's adored by everyone. Rebekah spoils him mercilessly. And he's changed me."

"I can see that. You're less... I don't know. But you're less something and it's good. Really good, Klaus. I'm happy he's brought something good into your life."

"You've brought more good back into my life since coming here," Klaus said softly. At this, he brought his other hand up to rest on the other side of Caroline's waist and drew her a little closer to him. Caroline could feel his warmth enveloping her and she felt her heart tripping over itself with joy at the feel of Klaus's arms around her.

This was where she wanted to be for the last five years.

"We need to take it slow," Caroline whispered as Klaus's head began to drop toward hers.

"I know." He said as he brushed the lightest of kisses on Caroline's lips.

Caroline sighed at the contact and her hand, which had still been resting on Klaus's shoulder, moved up to clasp his neck. She pulled him in and began moving her lips softly over his. It was pure magic. The electric current which had flowed between them in Mystic Falls only intensified with physical contact and Caroline wondered how she could have almost let this go. Klaus pulled her flush against him and deepened the kiss between them. Caroline felt her knees go weak and wrapped her other arm around Klaus to steady herself as they wove a tighter web around themselves. Klaus was ecstatic. After years of flattery, wishing, and waiting, Caroline Forbes was finally in his arms. He brought one of his hands up to cradle her face and eased her back to the desk behind her, steadying her as he continued to kiss her.

Finally, or too soon in Klaus's mind, they eased apart and looked in each other's eyes. Caroline's eyes were dancing and the smallest of smiles was on her lips. She giggled and not seeming to be able to help herself, reached back up and laid another soft, sweet kiss on Klaus. Klaus smirked and pulled her into arms, resting his head on top of hers. Caroline wrapped her arms around Klaus's waist and burrowed her face into his shoulder, surrounding her senses with his scent and touch.

Everything felt so right. And then, reality set back in.

"I have to go," Caroline whispered against Klaus's chest, "I'm working the double shift tomorrow and I don't want to be tired."

Klaus sighed and kissed the top of her head before responding, "I know. I'll walk you home. I wish you could stay."

"Slow, Klaus." Caroline reminded him with a small smile. "And Sophie will be pleased, she didn't want me to walk home alone tonight."

"As she shouldn't. At least, not yet."

Klaus dropped one more kiss on Caroline before taking her hand and leading her down the stairs, waving goodbye to Rebekah and Elijah, and walking out the front door.