A/N: I am back! So sorry for my absence, you have no idea. Inspiration for this fic is lacking but I'm determined to get it out and I have a goal of finishing it by the end of august! Good news is I already have the next chapter written and being edited. A geat big thanks to angela and jay for editing the chapter and making it better! Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Seventeen

The sun streams through the open curtains, bright light cascading throughout the room. Caroline snuggles deeper into the covers as the light hits her eyes. She attempts to roll over, to block the sun out, but an unexpected body beside her halts her movements.

She squeaked at the contact with the solid body, momentarily forgetting she shared her bed last night. Caroline opened her eyes and are met with Klaus' bright blue ones looking down at her, a small smile on his lips.

"Morning," he whispered, leaning forward and giving her a brief kiss.

"Morning," she reciprocated, smiling herself. Caroline glanced at the clock over his shoulder, the time way later than she originally thought. She pushed at his shoulder, sending Klaus rolling over. "The time, you have to go before Nate wakes up!"

Klaus looked over and groaned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand to try and wake himself up. "Caroline."

"You can't be here when he wakes up," she said, giving him an extra shove.

Klaus gave in, getting out of bed and redressed in his clothes the night before. He had ben sneaking in the odd night and sneaking out the following morning, always ensuring he was never detected by Nate or Stefan. There would be too many questions, especially from the younger Salvatore.

Caroline had gotten of bed as well and sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Klaus pulled up his crinkled jeans. He smirked at her obvious attempt at watching him and once his pants were fastened, leaned down and gave her a kiss on the nose. "I'll see you tonight for dinner with my mother."

"Okay," she replied, standing up and giving him a hug. She held on for longer than necessary, looking up and captured his lips. She didn't relinquish her hold on him, instead her hands gripped tighter to his shoulders, pulling him into her.

Klaus pulled away slightly, "I have to go before we get caught."

Caroline nodded and sighed. "Alright. I'll see you tight."

With one more kiss, Klaus was creeping down the stairs, stepping as lightly as he could on the old wooden staircase as not to make any noise. He finally reached the door and pulled it open, ready to make his escape when a small voice came from behind him. "Nik?"

Klaus turned around and saw Nate standing on the stairs, clad in his pajamas and holding onto his teddy. "Hey, Mate."

"Are you here to make me breakfast?" He questioned, trying to stifle a yawn.

He looked around the apartment, Caroline nowhere in sight and had probably retreated to the bathroom for a quick shower. Klaus took a glance at his watch before sending the boy a smile. He still had time before he needed to be in for work. "I am."

Nate padded down the last few stares, passing Klaus and made his way into the kitchen. Klaus followed in behind, figuring Caroline would be down soon enough and she'd be thankful for a hot cup of coffee.

He set to work on blueberry waffles, one of Nate's favourite breakfast foods, while Nate sat at the kitchen table playing with action figures. While working, Klaus would throw the occasional glance over his shoulder to make sure that Nate was still at the table and hadn't wandered off and found him content playing there.

Caroline came rushing down the stairs fifteen minutes later, her hand across her heart and breathing heavily as she came to a stop in the kitchen. "Nate! I was wondering where you were," she said, trying to catch her breath.

Klaus laughed, setting a plate down in front of the boy along with a glass of orange juice. "It's not like he could have gotten very far."

Caroline rolled her eyes and entered the kitchen, going straight to the fresh pot of coffee. Klaus joined her, grabbing himself a cup of coffee after she had hers poured into a mug. "I thought you were leaving?" She whispered.

"I was but got caught on my way out," he shrugged.

Klaus wrapped her arm around her waist, pulling her into him causing Caroline to giggle lightly. He leaned down for a kiss but her phone went off. Caroline pulled away, sending him an apologetic smile as she exited the kitchen to answer the phone.

Klaus joined Nate at the kitchen table with his own plate of blueberry waffles and cup of coffee. The boy was sitting there content with his breakfast, lost in his own little world.

Caroline rejoined them a few seconds later, her phone still clutched in one hand and coffee in the other. She leaned down beside Klaus, her mouth by his ear. "I have to go into work early today, can you take Nate to school?"

Klaus nodded, pulling back slightly and gave her a smile. "Absolutely. I don't have meetings until this afternoon."

"Thank you so much," she replied, jumping forward and giving him a kiss.

Caroline pulled away far too soon for Klaus' liking and turned to Nate. "Sweetie, I have to go into work early but Klaus is going to walk you to school, is that alright?"

Nate looked up from his breakfast plate with big blue eyes. He shifted his gaze from Caroline to Klaus and smiled. "Okay."

Caroline let out a breath and gave his forehead a kiss and ruffled his hair. "I'll be there to pick you up this afternoon."

Nate hummed his approval. Caroline shot Klaus one last look and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "thank you so much!"

Klaus laughed, "it's fine, now go before you're late."

Caroline didn't wait another second, she grabbed a travel mug and filled it with coffee and rushed through the house grabbing everything she'd need. Within five minutes she was yelling from the door that she was on her way, the front door closing in her wake.

"Looks like it's just you and me," Klaus said, giving Nate a wink.

"Can I wear my Iron Man costume to school today?" Nate questioned seriously.

Klaus stood from the table, "nice try, but how about we settle for something more Tony Stark."

The boy gave a long exaggerated sigh and gave in. "Alright."

Klaus chuckled under his breath, "I'll clean up here while you go brush your teeth then we can pick something out to wear."

Nate nodded and slipped off his chair, with his Iron Man and Hulk action figures in hand, retreating from the kitchen he ran up the stairs. Klaus cleaned up the kitchen, making sure he left it how he found it with all dishes washed and put away.

A half hour later Klaus and Nate were out the door, Nate dressed in jeans and an iron man shirt and his cars backpack. Klaus held Nate's hand as they walk through the busy city streets. They walked quietly, taking their time getting to school. He was slightly stalling, almost because the morning was too perfect and he didn't want it to end.

He hadn't really had that much one on one time with Nate but he was growing to love the boy. How could he not? Nate was always up to something and a little troublesome at times but he always managed to put a smile on anyone's face. He was a little like Caroline that way, bright and energetic.

When they reached the front doors to the kindergarten class, Klaus kneeled down in front of the little boy, his hands resting gently on his shoulders. "I'll see you tonight after work."

"Okay," he smiled. "Thank you for walking me to school." Then Nate leaned forward, his small arms wrapping around Klaus and gave him a hug.

Klaus hugged him back, squeezing the little boy tightly as he felt his chest expand with adoration. Nate pulled away and Klaus stood up, "have a good day."

With one last hair ruffle, Nate was off running into the fenced in enclosure with the other kids from his class. Klaus stood there and watched him play and when the bell finally rang and Nate was safely inside the classroom he finally left.

Klaus grabbed a cab to return to his apartment and prepare for the day. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't contain his smile. The morning felt very domestic, something Klaus wasn't used to but he wasn't complaining. He liked how it felt and that it didn't scare him away. He could see himself doing this for the rest of his life with Caroline.

It was an hour and half drive and Rebekah was growing more irritated as time passed. She and Stefan had taken the day off for a long weekend so they could clean up the lake house and plan for the wedding. Granted a majority of the planning was completed, they just needed to plan the layout around the property.

She had never been to the Salvatore lake house before, Stefan had mentioned it occasionally but the place had been unlived in for years. There were too many memories there and she could understand why he didn't want to revisit.

The car finally slowed as Stefan turned onto a dirt road with trees lining either side. They travelled down the road for less than a hundred yards before it opened up to a large wooden house, presumably the lake house. When the car came to a stop, just outside the front door, Stefan got out with Rebekah following his lead.

The lake house had a dark wooden colour, a wraparound porch and a swing set sat off to the side beside the red double front doors. Rebekah looked over to Stefan who was still studying the place, squinting and a small frown overtaking his face. She walked around the car to him and gave his hand a squeeze and reassuring smile.

He came back to earth, looking down at her. "Ready?"

She nodded and allowed him to lead her towards the house. With one look at the lake house, Rebekah knew this was where she wanted her wedding. It was perfect and she hadn't even seen where the ceremony was going to take place yet. She loved that it meant something to Stefan, that the place held value and memories for him, a comfort on their special day.

Stefan first took her on a tour of the lake house, which was rather large with seven bedrooms, three full bathrooms, a large kitchen, lounge room and dining room. Photographs filled the walls of pictures of not only Stefan but of Damon and their parents. Their ages varying from infancy to teenagers. There was one, that already Rebekah loved at first glance, which was of one where Damon had Stefan in a headlock and both were smiling happily at the camera.

He then led her outside to the porch and down the steps to a large backyard, at the edge was a bank that led down to the water and dock. Stefan grabbed her hand and led her down to water level, helping her down the slightly worn steps and onto the creaky dock. "It's beautiful."

Stefan nodded beside her, his arm slung loosely over her shoulders. Rebekah leaned into his body as they both looked out onto the lake, glistening in the morning sun. "There's so many memories here."

"All good I hope," she stated, looking up at him. He seemed lost in his own little world, looking out but thinking back to all the memories the lake house held.

"Mostly good memories," he smiled, finally meeting her eyes.

"This is the perfect spot to get married, thank you for suggesting it."

"Thank you for not freaking out at the idea," Stefan retaliated, causing both to break out in laughter.

"I may have freaked out a little bit, but now that we're here, it's perfect. You'll be surrounded by memories of your family and you'll be close to them."

"It's perfect," he said, leaning down and capturing her lips in a soft kiss.

Rebekah smiled up at him, giving him another quick kiss. "Let's go and get settled in and you can tell me all kinds of stories before we start on the wedding preparations."

Stefan let his arm drop from her shoulders but grabbed her hand as he led her back up the stairs to the top of the hill and backyard. "I remember looking for grasshoppers and frogs with Damon when I was younger. We would come inside with muddy clothes and get in trouble every single time, my mother hated it."

When they reached the top, the spot that Rebekah knew they would be married on, they both stopped and turned towards each other. "This really is perfect," Stefan whispered.

"It is. And you'll be making new memories here, good memories that you can add and hold onto."

"Thank you," he said, pulling her into his arms for a solid embrace.

Rebekah relaxed into the contact as her arms encircled his waist. "I love you," she murmured into his shirt.

Stefan kissed the top of her head before settling his chin on top. "I love you too."

Caroline was running late for coffee with Bonnie. Her meeting had run long and she had tried to grab everything from her desk so she wouldn't have to return back for another few days, her boss had called her in for a quick chat, and then she got held up with pedestrian traffic. So when she finally found the little coffee shop on the corner, she ran inside, finding Bonnie already occupying a table with two cups of coffee in front of her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she said as she sat down, her purse and work bag falling to the floor at her feet. "It's been a hectic day."

Bonnie laughed, "it's fine, I haven't been waiting long."

Caroline nodded, taking a deep breath and relaxed into her seat. She looked up at her best friend and smiled. "So update me on your life, what have you been up to? It's been forever since we've had a coffee date."

The brunette raised her eyebrow, "What's up with me? I should be asking you that." Caroline blushed, causing Bonnie to smirk devilishly. "So something did happen? Between you and Klaus?"

Caroline avoided her gaze as she took a sip of her coffee which was surprisingly still hot. "Well we're dating."

"I knew that, Caroline!" Bonnie squealed.

"Nate loves him," she said. "And I think Klaus really loves him too."

"I already knew all that. Give me juicy gossip."

"Why don't you fill me in on your juicy gossip first, Ms. Bennett?" Caroline probed, smirking at her best friend.

Now it was Bonnie's turn to slink back, blushing slightly. "Things with Kol are good. We had a little scare the week before but it was nothing serious."

That piqued her interest. "What do you mean scare?"

Bonnie chewed on her lip nervously, taking her time answering the question. "I was late and feeling a little sick. I took a test but it was negative."

Caroline blanched at her answer. "A pregnancy test? It was negative? Are you sure? Did you tell Kol? What did he say?"

The other girl chuckled lightly, all nerves subsided. "He was surprisingly supportive through it all. And yes I'm sure. It was just a little bug that has been going around."

"So things are good then?"

Bonnie nodded, "things are good. I really think this brought us closer together."

Caroline reached out and placed her hand on top of Bonnie's. "Good, I'm glad."

"Now will you tell me what's going on between you and Klaus?"

The blonde sighed, taking another sip of her coffee that was slowly getting lukewarm. "Things are good between us. We're happy."

"And?"

"And what?" Caroline shrugged. Bonnie kicked her softly under the table, slightly mad that Caroline was being so coy with everything. "Fine," she grumbled, giving into the demands of her best friend. "By good I mean really good, as in secret sleep overs and breakfast in the morning good."

Bonnie shot up in her seat, eyes wide at the confession. "Wait, what? Sleepovers? What about Nate?"

"He understands we're dating. Klaus usually sneaks out in the morning, although this morning I think he got caught trying to sneak out. Some mornings he brings us breakfast and walks with us to school. Things are good."

"Awe," Bonnie cooed. "Kol thinks Klaus loves you and Nate. He's pretty convinced."

Caroline chuckled, "Kol's convinced that there's going to be a zombie apocalypse, I don't really think we can trust his judgement on all things involved with love."

The brunette raised an eyebrow, smirking. "I don't know, I think he might be right on this one. I haven't known Klaus for that long but I can kind of see it too."

Caroline rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile gracing her features, nor could she help the exclamation that came out of her mouth next. "And what if I say that I think I'm in love with him too. Or falling in love with him," she shook her head before continuing, "I don't know. It's all too soon and crazy. I mean what if he gets tired of us, or Nate?"

"Caroline-"

The blonde shook her head. "We haven't even been together for that long, maybe a month at most. And this is the first real relationship I've had since Damon. I know it's crazy but at the same time it's not. I'm scared that he's biting off more than he can chew."

This time Bonnie reached out, "Care, you should talk to him."

"Okay,' Caroline whispered, nodding along slightly as she thought over the idea. "But what do I even say?"

"You explain to him where you're coming from and let him know how you're feeling. He'll understand and you'll get an idea of where his mind is."

"You're right," she resigned, "I'll talk to him."

Later that day, after Caroline, Klaus and Nate had returned home from dinner with his mother, they had retreated to the couch to watch an episode of SpongeBob before Nate had to go to bed. The little boy sat between the two and was curled up and leaning against Klaus, his eyes half lidded as he watched the television.

Caroline looked over at the two, Klaus' hand rubbing Nate's back softly and soothingly. He was staring down at the boy, watching in awe as he was drifting off to sleep on his lap. Caroline felt her heart melt at the sight.

"I think it's time for bed," she whispered to the two, breaking whatever bubble they were in.

Nate sat up, rubbing his eyes, and looked at Caroline frowning. "I don't want to."

"It's getting late, Sweetie," Caroline replied softly.

Nate turned to look at Klaus who smiled at him encouragingly, then back to her. "Can Klaus put me to bed tonight?"

Caroline was about to apologize and say no, hesitating because she didn't know if that was something Klaus would want, but he spoke up for her. "I would love to, Mate."

The little boy just smiled, climbing into Klaus' lap to be picked up. Before Caroline could protest or find a way out for him, Klaus had already picked up Nate and was making his way towards the stairs. Caroline followed behind after turning off the television.

She spent the next few minutes watching as Klaus got the boy ready for bed, pajamas and bushed teeth. She had to tuck him in because he was very specific about that part, but otherwise Klaus was hands on, something that surprised Caroline but didn't at the same time.

They both whispered their good nights, the iron man night light was turned on as the main light was switched off and the door pulled mostly shut. "You didn't have to do that," Caroline said as they made their way back downstairs to the couch.

"I wanted to," Klaus replied, sitting down and pulling Caroline close.

"Yeah but you don't have to do all that stuff. You're not obligated."

He pulled away slightly, his arm still around her shoulders, but just enough to look down at her, confusion written over his face. "What's this about?"

Caroline played with her hands in her lap, avoiding his eyes. "It's just, we've never talked about this, about you and Nate. I know you care for him, you've shown that you have. I don't want to tie you down with Nate and myself."

Klaus lifted her chin with his free hand so she was now staring up into his eyes. "I want you and I want Nate. I want this. Every night, I want to help you put him to bed and I want to wake up to you in the mornings and cook breakfast for both of you."

"Are you sure? Because you say that now but you could change your mind down the road. Things could get tough and I don't want you to break his heart when one day you're not there anymore," she said, her eyes beginning to water.

"I'm not going anywhere, love," he said. "I don't want to go anywhere."

Caroline nodded, forming a rebuttal but Klaus was already pressing his lips to hers, ceasing all thoughts. "I'm here because I want to be here, don't push me away, Caroline," he whispered when he pulled away.

"Just promise to tell me if it all becomes too much," she requested.

Klaus reached up, his hand sliding into her hair as his thumb gently stroked her jaw. He looked down at her, "This is what I want. You and I, sitting here at night after Nate was just put to bed. I want a chance to show you this is what I want."

"I want to give you that chance but you have to promise to tell me if it becomes too much or something is too soon."

He grabs her hands in his, giving them a tight squeeze. "I promise, Caroline."

"This means a lot to Nate and I," she said, before continuing. "He's still young, I don't want him to get hurt by getting too attached. I don't want to confuse him either, he'll start seeing you as a father figure and what if something happens and you're not around anymore?"

Klaus nodded, understanding. "I love that boy, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I promise that if it all becomes too much that I'll let you know."

"Thank you," she replied a little breathlessly, taken away by his honesty. Caroline leaned in, closing the distance and sealing their words with a kiss.

She believed him, every word he said. She didn't want to push him away, not anymore, not when she knows that he's all in and not when she wants the same things as him.

A/N: So what did you think of that chapter? Looks like things are getting serious!