"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Klaus said as he went to answer the door. He opened it and saw a blonde on the other side. "Yes?" He said. "May I help you?"

"You're not Kol!" She exclaimed. "Where's Kol? I have to talk to him!"

"Well, he's here," Klaus said. "And please, come in."

"Thank you," Caroline replied, and walked in with her hips going from side to side. "Just where *is* Kol?"

"I'll call him for you," Klaus told her. He turned away and yelled, "Kol! There is a strange and very pushy woman here to see you!"

Caroline glared at him until Kol appeared. "Caroline?" He said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I have an idea," Caroline told him. "It could be a way to help you with Bonnie now that she and Roger are split up."

"Well, good!" Kol sat down, looking eager. "What's the plan? Are we gonna kill the second guy she's gotten into? I know there's a second guy."

"Yeah," Caroline nodded. "His name's Trevor and she met him at the library. He's very well-read. And traveled."

Kol cleared his throat. "Moving on! What's your plan?"

"Well," Caroline said, "I know for a fact that the only reason why she's with him is because she's stubbornly refusing to admit she still likes you even though she does. But I figure if she thinks she has competition for you, it might get her ass in gear, if you know what I mean."

"So you're thinking I should date a woman in front of her, and that will make her more likely to admit she likes me?" Kol asked.

"Oh, I don't know if it'll make her admit that she likes you again," Caroline said. "But at least it will make her more aware of her feelings. You know, bring them up to the surface."

"And if I went through with this plan," Kol asked, "The woman and I, we wouldn't actually be dating, would we?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "No, it would just be pretend."

"Well, that's not so bad, I guess." Kol stood up. "Who's the other woman?"

"Well," Caroline stood up from the sofa, her arms spread out. "I was thinking that the fewer people we have involved the better, so I thought I'd be the other woman."

With a grin, Kol looked her over. "All right," he nodded. "I guess you'll do."

"But just remember," Caroline warned him. "This isn't real. It's just pretend so we can get Bonnie to admit she likes you again."

"Oh, I know," Kol said earnestly. "I don't think that's possible for me to forget."

Caroine nodded. "Well, good. So this is the idea we're going with, then?"

Kol nodded.

"Okay," Caroline said. "When I think of an idea to get you and me and Bonnie and Rick in the same room, I'll let you know and we'll make more concrete plans."

"All right," Kol replied with a grin as she made her way to the door. "I'll talk to you then, Caroline."

She left and Klaus came up to Kol. "Just who is that?" He asked. "She's very pretty."

"That's Bonnie's friend Caroline," Kol said. "I don't think she's seeing anyone...if you're interested."

"Oh, stop, Kol," Rebekah said to him. "Isn't it bad enough the way you're messing around with Bonnie? Don't subject a poor girl to Nik's hollow charms as well."

"I wasn't actually conidering dating her," Klaus replied. "I was just curious about who she was since I'd never seen her before."

"And for the record," Kol protested, "I'm not 'messing around' with Bonnie. Some other man is. If it were me, we wouldn't be in this situation, now would we?"

"I guess not," Rebekah grinned. "Kol, you're so adorable when you're frustrated about Bonnie."

"So, this other man," Klaus said as he sat down with one leg crossed on top of the other, "Who is it? What's he like?"

Kol shrugged. "Why do you think I would know?" He asked.

"Well, I don't know," Klaus said. "Maybe Bonnie calls to tell you about the great men she's going out with who aren't you."

"Sadly no," Kol shook his head. "She's not that petty. Any time I want to know something about the competition, I have to ask Caroline. She's as gossipy as Bonnie isn't."

Rebekah grinned. "Well, isn't that lucky? I hope this other guy that she's seeing isn't like Roger. She couldn't be dating two such lame men in a row."

"Caroline says this one is much better," Klaus answered. "His name is Trevor, she met him at the library, and he's very well-read and well-traveled."

"Sounds great," Rebekah replied. Then she looked at Kol. "I'm sorry, brother," she said. "But I suppose there are other women on this planet besides Bonnie."

"You have such little faith in me, Bekah," Kol said. "If you think I'm just gonna lie down and roll over for a man Bonnie met at a library, you have another think coming."

"Hey, Bonnie?" Caroline said to her friend, "would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Sure," Bonnie said. "What?"

"Well, I just met this guy," Caroline replied. "He's kind of...out there, as far as guys go and I wondered if you and Trevor wouldn't mind doubling with us next time we go on a date. Would you? Please?"

"Caroline, if he's weird enough that you don't think you can be alone with him, you shouldn't be dating him," Bonnie frowned. "What kind of a freak is he, anyway?"

"Well," Caroline said, "I wouldn't call him a freak necessarily, but since it's gonna be our first date, isn't it necessary for us to have someone along with us as like a chaperone?"

"You've never asked me to chaperone your dates before," Bonnie said. "What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Caroline shook her head. "Seriously. So will you and Trever double with me and my guy or not?"

"Tell me who the guy is that you're dating and I'll think about it," Bonnie shot back. "The impression of him that you're giving me isn't a good one. You didn't get drunk one night and wake up in bed with him the next day, did you? Caroline, you have to stop doing that if you're ever gonna have a good relationship! Think about the pros and cons of each man before you go out with them."

"I'll start thinking about the guys I date if you stop thinking so much!" Caroline cried. "You overanalyze everything and play it safe every time and that's why you got with stupid Roger instead of being with Kol like you know you should!"

Bonnie's lips pursed and her gaze darkened. "Don't you say another word about him, Caroline. You have no idea what I went through with him. No idea at all."

"So about the double date?" Caroline asked. "Will you and Trevor come?"

"Sure, whatever," Bonnie said gruffly. "If it will get you to talk about something else for a change."

A few days later, Kol met Caroline at the restaurant where they were doubling with Bonnie and Trevor.

"You didn't tell her that it was me who was your date, did you?" Kol asked. "Because that will just drive her away and defeat the whole point."

"No, I didn't tell her it was you specifically," Caroline shook her head. "I just said that I was having a first date with a new guy and that it wouldn't hurt to have somebody with me. But then she got really worried and started berating me cause she thought I was dating some crazy person, and then I told her she thought her relationships out too much and should be with you and she got mad, but agreed to come with Trevor anyway."

"Excuse me," said a deep voice to the seating host. "We're half of the Forbes party."

Caroline turned as the host said, "Oh, yes. The other members of your party have arrived and are seated at that table over there," he pointed.

Kol eyed the tall, dark haired man critically. He was tall, not bad looking, and knew how to dress. "Damn!" He muttered under his breath. "There's nothing for me to criticize about this man!"

"Maybe that's good," Caroline whispered. "Maybe you should start by being nice and then graduate into being critical once you get to know him better."

Kol sighed. "Possibly."

As Bonnie and Trever reached the table, she froze, causing him to bump into her from behind.

"Hey," he said. "Why did you stop?"

"Kol?" Bonnie said quietly, her voice shaking. "What are you doing here? Did you come to spy on me?"

"No," Kol shook his head. "I'm here with Caroline. That's all right, isn't it? I mean, we're not together anymore."

"Right," Bonnie nodded. "Of course we're not. You can be with whomever you want." She sat down looking as if she'd been shocked. When she got her voice back, she said, "Caroline told me she was seeing someone else, but she didn't mention that it was you, Kol."

"If she had, would you have come?" Kol asked.

"Maybe," Bonnie replied. "I don't know."

Trevor looked back and forth between them for a moment, before sticking his hand out to Kol. "So you're Kol," he said. "Nice to meet you, I'm Trevor."

Kol shook his hand. "Ah, yes. The intelligent, well-traveled man Bonnie met at the library. So nice to finally meet you." He let Trevor's hand go and put a hand over Caroline's shoulder. "So," he said. "Are we going to order wine?"

"Sure," Caroline nodded. "I'd like some."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at Kol. "That goes double for me." She paused. "But I think that while one of you orders the wine, I'll go to the ladies' room. Caroline, would you care to come with me?"

"No," Caroline shook her head. "I'm good, thanks."

"Come on," Bonnie said through her teeth. "Please."

Grudgingly, Caroline followed Bonnie to the bathroom, where she surveyed her friend with hands on her hips. "Okay," she said. "Go ahead. Let it all out. How mad are you at me?"

"I'm not mad," Bonnie said, her eyes downcast. "Like I said, you have the right to date whomever you want. I just wish you would have told me that you and Kol are dating."

"But then you wouldn't have come and you'd have missed out on having a good dinner with us," Caroline said.

"Doesn't seem so great now," Bonnie grumbled.

"Well, that's because you're still in shock over the fact that I'm dating Kol," Caroline said. "But you have Trevor! And he's so good for you. Much more your type than Kol."

"You know, you're right," Bonnie nodded. "Trevor is solid and intelligent and dependable, he's been everywhere, he dresses well, and he's too smart to break up with me for a stupid reason like failure to reach completion."

"Exactly," Caroline nodded. "You're with a guy that you like and I'm with a guy you don't like anymore. Everything is fine. Now, let's go back to our table and see what kind of wine the guys ordered, huh?"

"Okay," Bonnie agreed. "Let's."

They got back to the table and Trevor said, "Is everything all right, you two?"

"Yeah," Bonnie nodded. "I was just a little shocked to see Kol here. Caroline didn't tell me she was bringing him. But we talked about it and I'm good now."

"Well, that's great," Kol said. "Because when Caroline and I decided to try being in a relationship, one of the things we wanted to be absolutely sure of, Bonnie, was that our relationship would not be awkward for you."

"Oh, it won't," Bonnie assured him. "In fact, I can tell you right now that I would be more than willing to go on more dates with it being just the four of us."

"Really?" Kol asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Bonnie nodded. "I promise."

The group spent the rest of the meal engaged in mindless, cheerful chatter, and Trevor went out to drive the car up, Kol helped Bonnie put on her coat and whispered next to her ear, "See you next time," his voice covering her whole body with tingles.

"Bye," she called back, her voice cracking. She winced and sighed. Well, she thought, there was always next time.