Later that night, when the Sun had finally gone down, Klaus and Caroline set off for Sang Lune. Slipping into her red cocktail dress, courtesy of Klaus, Caroline felt positively rebellious as they walked down the eliminated Las Vegas Strip.

The entrance to Sang Lune was startling different to that of the casinos, hotels, strip clubs and wedding chapels that lit up the sky like fireworks. The entrance was small, and designed to look like a decadent church. All crumbling red brick and ornate stone gargoyles, the only modern feature was the words Sang Lune in bright white letters, shining in an italic, Gothic font.

Pushing open the large, wooden double doors, Caroline didn't know what to expect; she, however, did not expect a small room, with only a long, red couch and a single man standing there.

Evidently this did not phase Klaus, as he pulled the man into a hug. "Alex, it's been too long!"

'Alex' agreed, before his eyes turned to Caroline. "And who might you be?"

"Caroline Forbes." she said nervously. Alex smiled at her warmly, picking up her hand and kissing it. She felt herself blush. He turned back to Klaus.

"Word on the street is you got what you were searching for... so you're gonna be drawing lots of attention in there, watch your backs." he warned. He stepped aside, revealing a door behind him.

"Klaus, Miss Forbes." he nodded them through.

The door opened, and a dimly lit staircase appeared. Caroline went first, one hand on the wall, the other clutching Klaus's; something Alex had said had scared her. 'Backs'. Was she in danger?

"No need to look so nervous, love." she soothed when they reached the bottom of the stairs. He pushed open another door and lead her through.

The noise hit her like a strong gust of wind, and so did the overwhelming smell of blood. Caroline felt her face shift, the hunger swell through her body like a whirlpool. So long since that had happened.

"This is a vampire bar." she laughed. "Of course it is..."

Klaus grinned at her. "Took you long enough."

The dance floor was panels of black light, giving the dancers and eerie blue-black glow. It was crowded; many people were standing for lack of seats. Nearly all of them had a Martini glass in their hand, filled with a deep red liquid.

Klaus took her hand again, and guided her past the dance floor to the bar. It was made of sleek, black metal, reflecting every light in the room, making it seem like liquid that too danced to the music. The man behind the bar was moving so fast he was a blur; filling glasses, taking orders, clearing empty glasses. He stopped when his eyes met Klaus's though. He grinned at him.

"My God, now there's a man I've missed." he said. "I thought I smelled wet dog in here. See you go your wish."

Klaus nodded, pushing Caroline a little further forward. "This is Caroline. Caroline, this is Jerome. He owns Sang Lune."

She reached forward and shook Jerome's hand. "What do you mean 'wet dog'?"

Jerome looked from her to Klaus. "You mean you can't smell him?"

Caroline laughed. "No, I'm probably just used to it."

Jerome looked surprised. "'Used to it'? Niklaus Mikaelson, have you settled down?"

"I might have, yes." he grinned. "Two, please."

He placed two glasses of blood on the bar, flashing Caroline a grin before he set off back to work. Picking up her glass, a question struck her that she could have hit herself for not asking it sooner.

"Where does this blood come from?"

"No one died for it, love, don't panic." he sipped at his own. "Most of it comes from the hospitals, but a lot comes from donors. People come in, willingly, and give blood."

"People do that?"

"No different to giving blood to a hospital; you're still saving a life, human or vampire and you get paid for it too."

Caroline thought on this for a moment. When he put it like that, it seemed less vile. Suddenly racked with impulse, she grabbed him and indicated that he should dance with her.

Begrudgingly – although she suspected he may have been kidding around – he followed her on to the dance floor. It was amazing how hot it was dancing among so many cold bodies. Pressing his body in to her back, he placed a hand on her stomach, pulling her towards him. He bent down to whisper in her ear.

"You look amazing." She leant her head back so it was resting on his chest and the dance together, grinding and swaying. They stayed there for a while, just dancing together, feeling each other. Soon, it felt like they were the only two people in the room. The only sound was their breathing and laughs. The only smell was the subtle spicy smell of his skin. The only sight was the endless flashing of lights and the moving shapes of nameless bodies.

After what felt like hours, a new sensation brought Caroline to her senses.

A smell.

A familiar smell.

She pulled away from Klaus, following it. She knew it, it stirred old memories and old feelings in ways Caroline could not quite understand. She head Klaus calling her name nervously, but it melted into the background noise of the club. Something in her brain snapped, like pieces of a jigsaw coming together.

"Tyler."

Tyler turned around, the shock on his face plain to see when he recognised her face. He stuttered something incoherently.

"What are you doing here, Tyler?" she muttered. She knew Klaus was not far behind.

"What are you doing here?" he said incredulously. His look of confusion quickly turned to fear. "Where's Klaus?"

Caroline indicated behind her. Tyler began to panic, desperately looking for a place to put his drink.

"Tyler Lockwood, what a curious surprise."

Caroline cringed inside. Klaus drew himself up to beside her. She was suddenly very conscious of his hand on her hip, and she avoided Tyler's eye with fierce determination.

"I should have guessed," Tyler snarled. "that you two wouldn't be more than a metre apart."

"Tyler, out of respect for Caroline, I will resist pulling your heart from your body." Klaus said very calmly. "But cross me again, and I won't even hesitate."

"Oh yeah, you see, I don't think you will. All the chances you've had to kill me... I think you know if you do, you'll lose her." he laughed bitterly. "So, what's more important? Revenge or Caroline?"

Klaus remained silent.

"Coward." Tyler spat.

Klaus's eyes turned yellow and he snarled at him. "Talk to me like that again and I will rip your head from your body."

"Tyler," Caroline pleaded. "just go, please."

"Shut it, you stupid bitch."

Klaus jumped forward in retaliation, but Caroline put a hand on his chest. She shook her head slightly, then approached Tyler, and with as much force as she could muster, thrust her hand in to his chest.

She felt the beating of his heart against her hand, and it made her spine shake and her eyes water, but she didn't care. "Talk to either of us like that again, and he won't have to."

She heard the cold in her voice, like steel. Tyler's face was white in fear as she scraped her nails across his heart she retracted her hand from his chest cavity. She glanced back at Klaus, who was staring at her with a mixture of shock and pride on his face. She noticed that a sizeable crowd had stopped chatting and dancing and many of them were whispering to each other, eyes glued to Caroline and Tyler.

She fully removed her hand, gave a sarcastic smile and tried her best to walk back to Klaus without betraying the utter terror that had gripped her insides in it's claws.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and briskly lead her back up the stairs. Alex tried to ask what happened, but Klaus shook his head in warning.

When they were back on the street, Caroline began to shake and her lungs stopped working properly and the smell of Tyler's blood on her hands made her feel giddy and sick. The lights from the buildings towering above her began to swim in front of her eyes, swirling and dancing and taunting her. The songs from stages all around her, bells, whistles and pops, they all rang in her eyes at once like a hideous orchestra. She clutched at Klaus's chest to steady herself, finding her lungs emptying of air.

She could hear his reassuring words, but they meant nothing. "I'm sorry..." she muttered.

"It's fine, love." he said soothingly. "Must have been a shock to the system, that's all."

"I've never felt that kind of... anger, rage. I wanted to kill him, Klaus."

He smiled. "Why, you appear to have caught a bad case of impulsive-itus off of me."

"This isn't funny," she snapped. "I've never lost it like that before."

He paused. "Why did you lose it?"

"I, I..." she stuttered. She didn't want to admit it, but she knew the truth. "I just wanted to protect you."

He beamed, drawing her into his arms. As she rested her weary head on his chest, he held her tighter than he ever had before. The strength of his arms, the sound of his beating heart... they were nothing but comfort and joy and happiness.

She looked up into his eyes. "I'm sorry, I must seem pathetic." she shook her head, laughing lightly to herself.

"You're a treasure, sweetheart. You'll never be anything else in my eyes." He paused, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Come with me, you need to see something." She reached and took the hand that rested on her shoulder in her own as they walked in comfortable silence to their destination.

Soon, they were back at their hotel. It was bustling with the late night traffic; couples, men in sharp suits, women in black dresses, tourists, entertainers... a delightful rainbow of human life.

Klaus hurried her into an elevator, to the top floor. Then, he took her to the door to the roof. Smiling at her, he dismissed the 'No Entry' sign, and pushed it open. Caroline gasped.

The view was like nothing that could be described. They were so high up, she could see where Las Vegas ended, and it was like it was a world so separated and individual from the rest of reality. An endless sea of lights and sound, lit up in all it's beautiful glory for her to see.

"Klaus... this is beautiful." she said breathlessly.

A mysterious song started playing. It was beautiful; classical, strings and percussion woven together to create a silky finish. Caroline never liked classical music, but up here, with this view, with Klaus, a more perfect song could not be heard.

Klaus walked over to her, gently guiding her away from the edge. He placed a hand on her waist and took her hand with the other. Together, they slow danced to a mysterious song on the rooftop of a Las Vegas hotel.

"I promised you I'd dance on the roo tops with you..."

"You said New York." she reminded him.

He shrugged. "Too cliché. Besides, I wanted to surprise you." He dipped her down so his face was almost touching hers. He placed the most gentle of kisses on the space just below her ear, sending shock waves through her body, before he brought her back upright.

"Well, you certainly are full of surprises." she beamed. "Why, only three months ago, I would have doubted you were even capable of love, and now..."

"I know." he said, but his words were muffled as Caroline kissed him. He responded eagerly, running his hands through her hair and down her back.

They broke apart momentarily. "I love you, Klaus."

Klaus only smiled in response, kissing her once more before allowing her to melt into his body and continue their slow dancing.