Caroline is racing back to her hotel through the winding streets of Paris, jerking her car to a stop and racing inside to the desk.
"Bonjour Madame!" The Manager says, a smile on her face.
"English?" Caroline impatiently asks.
She nods, "Yes, my English is tad bit broken, so excuse the bad."
Caroline just nods with her, "Yes, I'm looking for Klaus Mikaelson, could you tell me what room he's in?"
She gives her curious eyes, "Are you Caroline Forbes?"
Caroline gives her a curious look, "How'd you know that? You weren't the guy who checked me in."
The manager's eyes are now glowing a unusual color, she reaches under the desk and provides her with a key, "I was told to give this to you."
On the key, a note is attached.
See you soon.
"Thank you." Caroline gratefully says, "Could you tell me what room this key goes to?"
The woman shakes her head, "No, I can't."
Caroline remembers the note she received before, "Can you at least tell me what the top floor rooms are?" Caroline taps her fingers against the marble of the reception desk.
"I believe it was 232A, 233B,234C, and 235D." The manager supplies, giving her a soft smile, "Enjoy your stay."
Caroline runs over the elevators, pressing the top floor button rapidly. Finally, the elevator jerks to a stop and she walks out, she doesn't know where to even start. She turns to A but then reconsiders, well, my name starts with a C, so why not start there?
Caroline walks over to 234C and puts the key in the lock, jiggling it, and to her surprise, a soft click sounds and the door swings open, she takes in the dark room and flips on a light. The room is empty, she walks through the entire hotel room, jerking back shower curtains.
She sighs to herself, ready to give up when she spies a balcony door. Her heels clack repeatedly, she can hear his breathing catch.
She thrusts open the balcony doors, the blankets on the doors flowing out into the wind, she spots Klaus staring at her in a tux.
"Caroline." Klaus says, his breath caught in his throat.
He looks so hot in a tux, Caroline can't deny it, but she's frozen, her limbs won't move, her arms are still on the balcony doors, the city is glowing beneath their feet with a unfathomable light. The lights of the city seem to highlight Caroline's face and make her dress shimmer more in the moonlight.
Caroline, instead of running into his arms, she backs away from him, shutting the balcony doors and heading for the door.
Oh my god, this can't be happening.
It hits her like a ton of bricks, she can't be in love with Klaus, she just can't. Maybe Stefan was right, maybe he was right all along and Caroline just couldn't see it.
"Caroline!" Klaus is behind her now, grabbing her arm and twisting her to face him, her wrist in his warm hands, he's clutching her close to him.
"I can't do this." She rasps, "I can't, just, leave my life behind. I can't.." She hiccups, she's so unbelievably nervous, if she had a heart, it'd be beating like a hummingbird.
Klaus's hands cradle her face, kissing her gently, as if she was glass and that she might break under his touch. Caroline still couldn't gather her thoughts, she was in Paris, the most beautiful city in the world, kissing Klaus, her worst enemy, in one of the most beautiful dresses she may have ever encountered. When he pulled away from her, she looked down, then up again.
"You look ravishing, love." He says easily, brushing a curl out of her face.
Caroline swallows hard, "Why'd you leave?" She asks with hesitancy, her eyes searching his as he holds her wrist in his hand, pressing their bodies together.
"I couldn't stand it anymore, Caroline. I want to be able to walk down a street, holding your hand, sneaking kisses." Klaus holds her hand then, linking them together.
"This wasn't part of my plan, to go to Paris just to hunt you down." Caroline breathes, her thoughts a jumbled mess whenever he looked at her so intensely.
Klaus kisses her again, their bodies connecting as she throws herself into the kiss, not wanting to think about everyone she left behind just to be here.
They break apart, both of them breathing hard, their foreheads touching.
"Bonnie." Caroline's voice breaks as she tears away from him, reaching into her purse to grab her cellphone, quickly dialing Bonnie's number.
"Helllooo?" Kol says with a drunk tone to his voice.
"Let her go." Caroline says, "I've found him."
"Hey Bonnie, do you hear that? You get to go home now, Caroline has complied." Kol calls over to Bonnie.
"Then give me my phone." Bonnie impatiently goes over to Kol, holding out her hand.
He wiggles the phone, "Well, come and get then, beautiful."
Bonnie tries to grab it from him, Caroline hears a rustle and she can imagine Kol sitting on top of Bonnie.
"Quite the violent one aren't you? I find it kinky, so I hardly mind." Kol says, the phone is laying on the floor, Bonnie's wrists are being pinned to the floor.
Bonnie wiggles under him, "Get off of me!"
Kol leans down closer to her, "One condition, beautiful. Kiss me, and I'll release you and get off of you. I don't care if she has Klaus or not, I don't play by the rules, beautiful. Sorry to say you learned that the hard way."
Bonnie growls, "Get off of me!" Her hands are sizzling with magic.
"Don't even think about it, or I'll rip out your Mother's heart." Kol says with a pointed look towards Abby's sleeping form upstairs.
Bonnie is trapped, she knows it, she can only hope that she forgives herself.
Her arms go around his neck and she pulls him to her, his lips are surprisingly gentle yet fierce as his hands grip her waist, pulling her up with him as they fall onto the couch.
Bonnie pulls away from him quickly, he falls into her neck and she throws him off of her.
"Stay away from me." Bonnie growls, going up the staircase to her Mother's room.
"Your friend is quite the kisser." Kol says, picking up the phone.
Caroline hangs up the phone impatiently.
"I have to get back-" Caroline says, going full charge for the door, but Klaus is suddenly there.
"You just got here love. I thought we could appreciate Paris some more." Klaus says, his eyes are pleading and she can feel herself succumbing to him.
Klaus pulls her closer to him, their lips barely a inch apart, "Please stay."
"Why should I?" Caroline meekly protests.
"I want you to stay." Klaus says, and his lips are kissing hers. She definitely decides to stay.
Waking up in silk sheets in Paris is definitely not part of Caroline's master plan. Her plan was to find Klaus, bring him back to Mystic Falls, kick Kol where it really hurt, then go back home and eat some Ramen. But obviously, thanks to Klaus, her plans had gone awry.
But then again, maybe temptation had something to do with that also.
Waking up, she saw Elijah and Klaus chatting in the kitchen. Caroline clutched the silk sheets to herself, becoming embarrassed at the fact that she was naked. How come whenever she was around Elijah, she was hardly wearing any clothing?
"Good morning, love." Klaus says, merrily taking a sip of coffee.
Elijah turns to Caroline, "Terribly sorry for dropping in so late. I should have warned you, Nik. But Caroline called Kol last night to let him know where you were, but I wish she had called me instead. But then I realized she didn't have my number, so I programmed it into her phone when she was sleeping."
Caroline swallowed hard, reaching over the edge of the bed for her clothes, making sure to keep the silk sheet from revealing anything.
She grabs her clothes and disappears under the blanket, putting on a bra, tank top, underwear, and shorts before coming out.
"Coffee?" Klaus questions, handing her a cup, she takes it with a soft thank you.
"How's Bonnie?" Caroline asks Elijah.
"I've been helping her with her Mother since you seem to be a bit tied up at the moment." Elijah says, his eyes looking over at Klaus, "She seems rather shaken up though."
Caroline finally comes out of bed after getting all of her clothes on, "What do you expect? Her Mother was just turned into the thing she absolutely despises." She stands up and stretches.
Elijah nods, sipping his coffee, "But I've told Kol to release your friend, and I, instead, have been delivering blood bags for her Mother, since you're preoccupied at the moment."
Caroline flushes a bright red, "I know - I'm probably going to book a flight tonight.."
"That'd be the best idea, I hardly trusted Kol alone with your friend after his actions last night. I'm sure Bonnie has told you." Elijah puts a bit of sugar into his coffee, stirring it, "She seemed rather frazzled when I talked to her."
They book a flight, Caroline lays her head lazily on Klaus's shoulder, already tired after being in the air for three hours. He tells her stories of Paris and Rome, about his paintings, then he'll go quiet and begin drawing in his sketch book. Caroline falls asleep somewhere between the endless scrawl of pencil.
She's being shaken awake, her eyes slowly drag themselves open.
"We're here love." Klaus soothes her, helping her up as if she was a old woman instead of a tired vampire.
"What a hard flight." Caroline groans as they get off the plane, heading for the luggage area, "Paris was fun though. Minus the running rapid around the city to find you, then beginning to run when I do find you."
Klaus takes her hand in his, "Figures, painting in Paris isn't as lovely as I thought it would be."
"You should teach me to paint sometime." Caroline says, as she reaches for her luggage, then rolling it as they walk towards the exit.
"I have a feeling I'd get frustrated rather quickly." Klaus laughs, "Knowing you."
Bonnie see's them before they see Bonnie, she's looking rather frazzled still and her hair is straight but bears the burden of sleep. It's about 1 AM, so seeing Bonnie is a highlight of coming back to Mystic Falls.
"Bonnie!" Caroline squeals, taking her hands from Klaus's to run at Bonnie in a vampire speed, throwing her arms around her, "Oh god, I'm so sorry I left you."
Bonnie hugs her back just as tightly, "It's fine, it's fine. I'm okay, Abby's okay, everything's okay."
Caroline pulls away from her, "Oh god, I am so sorry for Kol." Caroline just can't seem to stop apologizing.
"He'll leave Abby alone now, that's all that matters." Bonnie swallows hard, looking away from Caroline.
Caroline's eyes are watery, "You make so many sacrifices, it's unfair." She hugs her friend tighter, "I'm so sorry."
Bonnie gives a shaky laugh, "You've said sorry over a dozen times by now, it's okay."
"I feel like I can't say it enough." Caroline groans, and Klaus reaches them.
"Bonnie, what a delight." Klaus holds out a hand for her.
Bonnie shakes his hand, "Well, someone had to come pick you two up from the airport, and it definitely wasn't going to be Stefan. He would have crashed you two into a tree."
"I somehow wouldn't put it past him." Klaus says.
Caroline slides her hand into his easily, Bonnie doesn't miss this gesture.
"Where's Elijah?" Bonnie instead asks, quirking her eyebrow.
"I think he took a different flight, said something about seeing a old friend." Caroline shrugs, "I'm dying to go home, can we just go already?"
Bonnie nods, "Sure."
They walk out to Bonnie's car, she pops open the trunk and Klaus and Caroline put their luggage in the back.
As Bonnie is driving, she breaks the silence, "So what is going on between you two?"
Caroline smiles, looking down at her lap and drawing her eyes to the window, "Ask him. I have yet to put a label on this."
Klaus has a soft chuckle from the back, it makes Caroline's smile even bigger, Bonnie notes.
"I suppose you could say we're friends with benefits." Klaus shrugs, biting his fingernail.
Caroline turns a bright red, twisting around to look at him, "You have to be kidding me."
Klaus pecks her on the cheek, "Kidding, love."
"You two are making me feel sick and lonely all at once." Bonnie complains, stopping the car at a red light.
Caroline twists back to face the front, a hint of a smile on her lips, "Sorry Bonnie. I could find you someone if you'd like-"
Bonnie turns to Caroline, a eyebrow raised, "I'd hardly take dating advice from you. Knowing you, you'd try to put me in a date with Kol." Her lips curl and her nostrils flare when she says his name.
Then, suddenly, there's a person in the middle of the road, just out of thin air. Bonnie swerves to miss them, but then the person is in front of where she's swerving, and she knocks them over. Bonnie omits a scream and jumps out of her car, running over to the limp body.
"Oh god, oh god." She repeats to herself over and over again as she races to assess the man, his eyes are closed and there's a gash on his stomach.
But it's healing. The skin is tying itself together, then Kol's eyes pop open.
Bonnie jumps away from him, breathing hard.
"Speak of the devil." Klaus mutters, "He shall appear."
"Well Bonnie, you never notified me that your driving skills were horrid." Kol says, propping himself up on his elbows.
"What idiot stands in the middle of the road?" Bonnie asks, brushing herself off and standing up, Kol does the same and their suddenly nose to nose.
Kol puts his finger under her chin, "I was only hoping to get your attention."
Bonnie flashes a bright angry red, "Oh, were you? And standing in the middle of the road and crashing my car is getting my attention?"
Caroline's hands is suddenly being engulfed by Klaus's hand, she feels so small and fragile next to him.
"Threatening my Mother's life wasn't getting my attention?" It's beginning to rain extremely hard as Bonnie stomps over to him, "All you've had is my attention!"
Klaus tugs Caroline closer to him, hoping to shelter her from the onslaught of rain.
Kol takes a step closer to her, brushing wet hair out of Bonnie's eyes, then he grabs her cheeks and kisses her.
Caroline tries to run out, but Klaus keeps a firm grip on her when he notes that Bonnie is kissing him back.
When they broke away from each other, his fingertips linger on Bonnie's face, her eyes are wildly searching his. Her mouth still slightly ajar, she backs away from him slowly before hoping into the car. Klaus and Caroline follow her with a sense of doubt when Kol disappears into thin air.
A/N: So, I had to put a Bonnie/Kol scene in there for my own self well being! Haha, thanks for all of the lovely reviews, more reviews means I'll try to get the chapters out MUCH more quickly! thank you for travelling so far with Klaus and Caroline, from Mystic Falls to Paris, and then back again.