Hi dolls.

It's not a long chapter, but it's been too long since I updated. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please share your thoughts and concern in reviews. I love reading them, and it gives me ideas on how to continue the story.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 7

"I don't have time for a meeting, Bekah." Klaus said, as he walked into the oval office, seeking privacy. He'd just left the situation room after being in there for twelve hours. He thought about going to bed, but Haley would be there and he didn't have the patience to deal with her at the moment. The next best thing was the oval office, but Bekah trailed in after him like a lost puppy.

"Make time, Nik. If not for your baby sister, then for Caroline."

He finally turned around to give his baby sister the attention she wanted. The mention of Caroline piqued his interest.

"What's wrong?" He tried to remain stoic, like he'd train himself to do. It came in handy as a politician, but a frown was slowly forming. He never understood why Caroline had that sort of effect on him - the way the simple mention of her made his heart swell with emotions he could never describe. He ignored and denied them for so long, but Caroline always managed to pull every hidden emotion of his dark heart into the light.

"Caroline's fine, but I'm worried about you."

He let out a breath and forced himself to regain composure, as he took his seat at his desk. "I'm fine, Bekah. I'd be better if you'd allow me some privacy."

She ignored his request and continued. "This is your last chance, Nik. Don't break Caroline's heart, again."

He glared back at her. "She walked away from me."

He hated being blamed for her departure. Sure, he chose Haley all those years ago, but the last time they rekindled their relationship during his election, he was ready to commit to her. He had a plan for him and Caroline to be the power couple he imagined they'd be, but then she left without even telling him. All the plans he made were ruined and all the happiness he felt was stolen.

"Then show her why it's worth it for her to stay this time. Fight for her, Nik. For Christ's sake, fight for Caroline's heart. Cause if you don't, I'm afraid you'll lose her, again, for good this time."

After Bekah left him to his thoughts, Klaus couldn't shake her words out of his head. He hated the realization that his baby sister was right. This would probably be the last time he'd be able to fight for her or he'll lose her, again. It's not as if he planned this. He hoped she'd agree to return, but he honestly wasn't sure. He was never sure when it came to Caroline.

For the rest of the day, he kept playing out different scenarios on how to convince her to stay this time. Words meant nothing to Caroline without action, but he wasn't sure what he could do. He was the President of the United States and yet he was limited when it came to acting on his feelings. It didn't help that he had a hard time expressing his feelings long before he became President. Being President just made him more careful and yet, whenever it came to Caroline he just wanted to have her, all thoughts aside.

He'd been so lost in his thoughts, Elijah had to snap him back into attention during their meeting later than afternoon.

"Niklaus."

"Niklaus!"

Klaus looked up from his papers to find Elijah glaring at him. He was so lost in his thoughts, he briefly forgot Elijah and Kol were in his office to discuss some policy they were trying to pass.

"Damn it, Niklaus. What the hell has gotten into you?" Elijah asked, rhetorically.

"I think I have an idea." Kol replied, in a light tone, which earned him a death-glare from Elijah.

"I knew this was going to be a bad idea. I just knew it." Elijah said more to himself, than to his brothers. "It's important we discuss this bill and pass this over to Congress before the end of the election. Heaven forbid you won't be reelected and St. John passes his own version."

"As much as I hate siding with 'Lijah, I agree with him." Kol's tone changed slightly. He was using the tone Klaus, Finn, and Elijah taught him to use since becoming Vice President. "It will help increase your popularity in this election. I hate to remind you brother, but you haven't been so popular lately and you might not win the popular or electoral vote at this rate."

"Which is why I have been stressing the importance of passing this bill." Elijah went on.

"I will win." Klaus told them, without a trace of fear. "As long as I have Caroline at my side, I will win."

There was a knock on the door, followed by Camille entering with her poised stature. Klaus looked up to her expectantly, partially thankful for the interruption. He's had enough of his siblings.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. President, but Ms. Forbes is here for your meeting."

A slow smile formed on his lips. He didn't schedule a meeting, but he had a feeling Caroline may have convinced Cami to squeeze her in, which he didn't mind. Today was turning out better than he anticipated.

Elijah knew Klaus' schedule like the back of his hand, so he immediately started claiming there was no scheduled meeting.

"I scheduled it at the last minute." Klaus lied. "Please clear the room."

Caroline entered the room and Cami shut the door behind her. She was dressed in a white button down dress shirt and a black pencil skirt, that hugged her curves in the right way.

Klaus rose from his seat to sit on the couch. "I'm told we have a meeting."

"Yes." She made her way to the couch and sat next to him, but careful not be too close. "We should discuss tomorrow's conference." She started pulling folders out of her purse, but he sensed something was off. It wasn't like her to lie about a scheduled meeting. Her eyebrows were furrowed and the folders were messy and unorganized.

"You didn't come here to discuss the conference tomorrow."

It wasn't a question. He knew she didn't want to talk business. He knew when something was bothering her. Caroline wasn't the best at hiding her emotions.

She let out a steady breath and met his gaze. "Why did you ask me to work for you, again?"

The question took him by surprise. He didn't have an answer prepared, so instead he countered, "Why did you accept?"

She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.

He kept hearing Rebekah's annoying voice in his head, reminding him to do something.

"Because you're the best and I need the best to win."

She let out a dry sardonic laugh and stuffed her folders back into her purse. "Of course. Yes. That's the reason. That's the only reason." She stood up and started apologizing for the unscheduled meeting.

But then Klaus stood up and reached for her hand. He resisted the urge to tug on her hand and pull her into him to kiss her, like he'd done in the past.

"You know that's not the only reason."

He looked up to the ceiling, reminding Caroline that they were being recorded. Even back then, they were always careful to never do anything taboo under the surveillance camera.

"Take a walk with me to the south lawn."

He expected her to make an excuse or tell him no outright, but she agreed. He had Matt and the other guards escort them to the south lawn. He walked at least a hundred steps in front of Caroline, but staff were already staring and whispering as they left the building. The guards didn't leave their sides until they reached the tall shrubs, where they were hidden from curious eyes.

"I shouldn't be here." Caroline said when they were alone. "We shouldn't be here."

All day, he kept thinking about how he could make things different this time.

"I want you here, and I'm not talking about here on this lawn." He closed the distance between them. "I wanted you back here."

She blinked back at him. He wanted to say more, but he wasn't sure what else to say.

"Why?"

"You know why, Caroline."

Even as President of the United States of America, he was still too afraid to admit his feelings for the only girl that made him feel something real - to be in love and want to be loved in return. Yet, all he could do was touch her. He reached for her face and held it, slowly stroking her cheek bone with his thumb. He wanted to kiss her then, but he knew she'd push him away. She closed her eyes and he guessed that she couldn't stand to look at him right now.

"You knew I'd come back." She said, as she opened her eyes to glare at him. "And you still want to have your way with me, after all this time. Were the years of pain I suffered being victimized as your mistress not enough for you?"

The words stung him hard. He never wanted her to suffer, but he was a selfish boy. When he decided to be a man and chose her, she walked away.

"That's not fair."

She huffed out in frustration, pulling away from his grasp. "Fair? You want to talk about fair? I was humiliated and I endured years of it, all because I was hopelessly in love with and you never -"

"Don't." He cut her off sharply. "Don't you dare." He growled at her this time, not able to restrain himself. It was his turn to be upset. He didn't mean to start an argument with her, but they were already there and a part of him thought they should finally have this argument. "You know damn well that things would have turned out differently if you hadn't left. Everything was planned and set." He paused, searching her eyes for truth. "Why did you leave?"

Her glare softened and a frown took form over her lips. She cast her eyes to the ground and crossed her arms over her chest, gripping her upper arms as if to hug herself.

"Look at me, Caroline." His voice was rough.

Reluctantly, her eyes met his and all he saw were soft blue eyes full of tears, begging to come down.

"Caroline." He meant it as an encouragement, but his voice came out soft and musky.

"I..." She closed her eyes and the tears slowly raced down her cheek. "I had to -" She stopped, swallowing down a sob.

He stepped closer and wiped away the tears, as he wrapped his arms around her. She tried to resist, putting her hands on his chest to push him away, but he held her tighter.

"I'm not letting you go this time."

She froze for a moment and then looked up at him behind her eyelashes. His heart was beating fast, but he could stand with her for hours if it meant she'd stay.

The moment didn't last as long as he'd hoped. She pushed him away, wiping her own tears and letting out a deep breath of frustration.

"I can't do this again."

"I'm not perfect, Caroline. I'm far from it. You know this. I can't give you a normal relationship and I can't promise you that I won't hurt you or do things you won't like."

She closed her eyes, letting the tears continue to fall. He wiped them away as they came.

"But I can promise you that my heart has and always will belong to you."

Her eyes shot open at the declaration. He was just as surprised as she was to hear the words come from his own mouth. He was never the type of man to declare his feelings for a girl, but Caroline made him want to be that man - the man she deemed worthy of her love. He didn't care if it made him look foolish. He just wanted her in his life.

His heart hammered against his chest, waiting for her to say something, anything. She just blinked back at him and just as he thought she was about to pull away, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. He felt the warmth of her love overtake his cold heart, igniting that spark that he'd felt all those years ago. To everyone else they were the President and his mistress, but to him - he was just a man trying to win back the girl he lost.

"You're late." Finn said as Klaus entered the Oval Office. He reminded himself to tell Camille not to allow anyone to wait in his office if he wasn't present, especially his family.

"Good to see you too, big brother."

Klaus situated himself on the couch opposite of Finn. Finn had poured two glasses of liquor during his absence. He took a quick swig, before flashing a grin at his big brother.

Finn eyed him curiously.

Klaus tried to avoid his brother's speculative stare, but Finn continued to search.

"I haven't seen you this happy since -" Finn stopped himself, as he started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. He hadn't seen his brother grin like that since he and Caroline were together. "Niklaus, please tell me you didn't..."

"I am not so immodest to discuss such things, big brother." Klaus shouldn't have smirked, but he couldn't help himself.

Finn shook his head. "When will you learn, Niklaus?"

"I understand that you don't like Caroline, but -"

"I like Caroline. I really do. I respect and admire her courage. Sometimes I wonder if you do."

Klaus lowered his eyebrows as he glared at his older brother.

"You say you care for the girl and yet, all I see is you mistreating her. If you really care for her, then let her go."

Klaus clutched his glass tighter. "Don't you think I've tried?" He snarled. "Our love isn't as simplistic as yours and Sage."

Finn clucked his tongue in disagreement. "That isn't love between you and Caroline. It's manipulation. You manipulate her and humiliate her to be your play thing."

Klaus clutched his glass tighter this time, until it shattered in his hands. He rose from his seat and threw the shards of glass on the floor before pointing at the door. "Out!"

Finn rose, shaking his head. "St. John's records are clean. I've checked everywhere I'm granted access. That's what I came to tell you." He said, as he saw himself out. "Stop thinking about your play thing and start focusing on your competition."

Caroline couldn't sit still after her confrontation with Klaus. She decided to go out for an evening run around the park. She hadn't gone for a run in several months. In fact, she usually only went for a run when her thoughts were all over the place and needed to be sorted.

The Washington D.C. air was clear and she welcomed the warmth as she set off towards the park, keeping a steady pace.

The run only distracted her for a few minutes, until her mind drifted back to Klaus. She never planned to kiss him, but questions were asked that she wasn't ready to answer and the next thing she knew she was leaning in to kiss him. It should have made her feel ashamed to use the kiss as a distraction, but it didn't feel like a distraction once her lips pressed against his. As much as her heart was leaping for joy at the thrill of kissing him again, there was a dull pain in her gut, reminding her of the pain that will occur if she continued down this path.

The lights along the park's path flicked on as the sun set in the horizon. Couples and families were leaving the park, probably to start on dinner or to cuddle in bed. She'd never have that with Klaus. They would never have a normal life, not while he was the President of the United States.

She was too distracted with her thoughts, she stumbled over loose rocks on the dirt. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact, but instead of landing on the ground, her head clashed against a hard chest and muscular arms held her steady.

She pushed off the stranger quickly and brushed her hair out of her face. She started thanking the stranger, until she met his stupid dashing smile.

"Now I really think you are stalking me." She pointed angrily at Lorenzo St. John.

He chuckled and wiped the bead of sweat over his brow. Even when he was covered in sweat, he managed to look like a roman god.

"I've been running here since I moved to D.C. I've never seen you here before. Besides, I was going the opposite direction of you. I saw you stumble and sprinted over to help."

"Well, thanks." She muttered, while brushing off imaginary dirt on her clothes. "What are you staring at?"She demanded, noticing his grin faded and his eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you ok?" He asked. He sounded different this time, not playful or flirtatious. He almost seemed concerned, but she pushed the thought away.

"I just have a lot of my mind." She replied as she walked away from him.

Enzo followed, walking next to her. "Running helps to clear my thoughts also."

She guessed they weren't the only two people in the world who shared the feeling.

"But sometimes having someone next to you helps, too."

She stopped in her step to glare at him for the implication that sex solves everything.

"I didn't mean sexual intimacy."

She continued walking and he fell into step next to her.

"I meant sometimes it's nice to have someone there when you're sorting out your thoughts. It's comforting to know that even when everything is turned inside out, there's at least one person there by your side."

She stopped in her tracks, again, but this time instead of glaring at him, she blinked back at him.

"I just get the feeling that you're one of those people that says they can handle it on their own, when really they just want someone willing to be there for them, no matter what."

"And you're so sure to presume the kind of person that I am?"

He shook his head. "I don't know much about you, but I know that's how I am." He admitted. "And I want to say that you're the same, because you would have told me to leave by now and you still haven't."

She wanted to tell him off and tell him to leave her alone, but it was true. Enzo wasn't her first choice of comfort, but it was reassuring to have someone there. Katherine and Stefan would automatically know it was about Klaus and start making presentations of why it wasn't a great idea to rekindle their relationship, while Rebekah and Kol would be too busy celebrating to hear her concern. She didn't know much about Enzo, but he hadn't forced her to tell him what was wrong. He simply asked if she was alright.

"Do you want to take a walk with me?"

He gestured toward the path. "After you."

She expected him to start mindless chatter and start prying into her feelings, but he didn't. He walked next to her not saying a word. He hummed softly, but it didn't annoy Caroline. She found it soothing as it reminded her of home and how her grandmother and parents used to hum in the kitchen while making dinner.

She had half a mind to dump all her problems on him, but she reminded herself that he had no business knowing those things. There was something about Enzo that made her want to trust him, despite not knowing him for very long. She was drawn into him for his flirtatious sentiments and dashing good looks, but whenever she was near him she felt warm and at ease, like she was hanging out with a friend from home. She guessed it had to do with them both being from the South. There weren't many southerners in D.C. and it was comforting to find one.

"Why do you think people make bad decisions? Especially when we know it's a bad decision."

He stopped humming and pressed his lips together, considering his answer. "Maybe it's because bad decisions are never entirely bad."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Sometimes we make bad decisions because it's what we want or we get something we want, but what we want could in fact be bad."

To anyone else he was speaking in riddles, but she understood what he meant. Being with Klaus was a bad decision, but she wanted to be with him, badly. Was it so bad for her to get someone she wanted? She should have felt guilty for feeling the way she did about Klaus, but she relished the moment she pressed her lips against his.

"But that depends on your interpretation of bad." He continued. "It's ok to want something that's bad for you." He simpered to himself. "We eat ice cream and candy, even though it's bad for us."

She laughed at the comparison of Klaus to sugar-filled treats. He glanced over at her and she caught his eyes. He smiled so effortlessly, she couldn't help but mirror him.

"And then we die at an early age from all that crap." She joked.

"But at least we'll have lived a life worth living - making our own choices, getting what we want. Imagine a life full of regret because we didn't get what we wanted most out of life."

She sighed, thinking about a life without Klaus. She lived a life without Klaus and she survived. She pushed that thought away quickly. She didn't want to start down that path, especially not when she was around people.

"I didn't think you were capable of such wise words." She said, trying to change the subject and lighten the tone with a playful tease.

"You shouldn't underestimate me." He quipped, letting out a small chuckle. "I studied philosophy during my pre-law program."

Night had fallen and they seemed to be the only ones at the park now.

"I should head home."

"May I walk you home?"

She thought it over for a second and agreed. They walked side by side and he resumed to humming that same tune from earlier.

"Why are you being nice to me?" She asked out of curiosity. "I work for your competition."

He stopped humming and the right corner of his mouth lifted, revealing his dimple. "I enjoy your company."

"What if I'm just trying to get information to use it against you?"

"Maybe I'm doing the same." He winked at her, which prompted her to giggle at his joke.

Enzo was the opposition in this election, yet she'd never felt more comfortable with a stranger ever in her life. She didn't have to pretend that she was ok with him. He somehow understood her, without her having to say it.

"I'm sure you have your staff working diligently to dig up dirt on me."

Despite herself, she blushed in embarrassment. She'd dug up dirt on thousands of people before and, though he didn't intend to, he managed to make her feel embarrassed for doing it to him.

"It's fine, Caroline. But if you want to know anything about me, then just ask."

She raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to call back his bluff.

"Try me." He encouraged.

"You don't have a record." She meant it as a question, but it was a statement. The curious Kat was the best at finding dirt on anyone, but Katherine found nothing on him.

"I am the son of a military man and a lawyer. Breaking the law was never an option growing up. But you already knew my parents' occupation and that I didn't have a criminal record."

"Fine. No criminal record. I'll find a way to sway Americans from your face to Klaus - I mean, President Klaus Mikaelson." She cursed in her head, reminding herself that she should refer to Klaus by his title.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you and President Mikaelson meet?"

"We met at Yale."

She shouldn't have brought up Klaus. She waited for him to continue asking more questions about Klaus and her relationship with him, but surprisingly, he didn't.

"You're an Eli." He pointed out, referring to the alumna nickname for Yale graduates.

"And proud to be one, Mr. Harvard." She snickered while taunting him, feeling relieved.

They finally reached her building. She started toward her building, while he stayed on the sidewalk. She reached the front door of the building and turned on her heel to face him.

He had his hands shoved into his pockets and he was staring back at her, wearing that handsome grin with his prominent dimple.

"Good luck at the next conference." She told him.

He beamed back at her and nodded as a thank you.

Damn that stupid grin, she cursed as she walked up to her unit.

Will Caroline and Klaus continue down this path?

Will Caroline find dirt on Enzo and use it against him?

Stay tuned to find out!

Please leave reviews and let me know what you think.

Xx,

Bri