Disclaimer: I don't own TVD

A/N: Thank you all once again for the lovely reviews, and follows and favorites! I appreciate all of it so much. A few of you had some questions in regards to the time line so far so here it is:

There is about a week or two between when Caroline meets Klaus and their first date. Then there is the three weeks of silence from Klaus when Caroline lays down her terms for a relationship. Then around two weeks' worth of groveling before Caroline exacts her revenge with a hung over Klaus. So far it has been two months between meeting and becoming an official couple.

XxX

"I hear you put my brother through a day of hell." Kol said casually as he came to sit next to Caroline who sat drinking with Stefan at the bar. Caroline smirked a bit as she gave a slight shrug of her shoulder taking a sip of her drink.

"Nothing he did not deserve." Caroline assured him. "Besides, most of it was self inflicted when he showed up hung over as shit." Kol let out a bark of laughter as he slapped her on the back the action itself a reflection that he was starting to see her more like a friend rather than a light skirt he wanted to chase.

"Well done darling. No woman save my little sister has ever put him through the hell you inflicted upon him on Thursday." Kol declared as he signaled for a round of shots to celebrate Caroline's victory over his womanizing brother. Stefan just shook his head as Caroline gave him a Cheshire grin, pleased with her accomplishment. With the three shots delivered, Kol gave Caroline and Stefan one each before holding up his shot in the air.

"This toast is dedicated to sweet Caroline. Who managed to put my not as good looking as me, brother through a day of torture that I wish that I had been a part of or at least had been there to witness. To Caroline! Cheers!"

Caroline and Stefan yelled "Cheers!" together as they all clinked their glasses together and downed the shots. With a grimace, Caroline chased her shot with her rum and coke as she took a quick glance around the bar to make sure the man in question was not around to take advantage of her inebriated behavior.

"Actually come to think of it there was another woman" Kol making air quotes as he said woman. "who gave him a hard time." Kol said as he smirked at his inside joke. Caroline brows lifted with a curious purse of her lips as she tilted her head as if to tell Kol to go on with his story, the statement even managed to peak Stefan's interest with this bit of information.

Kol turned to face the both of them, clearly pleased at not only being the center of attention but to highlight his own cleverness as well. "So I have a friend named Vanessa who is a bit of a transvestite."

"A beautiful one at that, you can't even tell she's a man." Kol pausing to take a sip of his scotch, sneaking a quick glance at his audience to make sure he had their undivided attention. "One night Vanessa decided to come visit me at the pub and we were chit chatting and getting wankered and what not when I notice that Nik was admiring Vanessa's lovely form." Caroline mouth started to drop open in a bit of shock before her lips started pulling into an amused smile as she could already see where this was going.

"And Vanessa always did have a bit of a crush on my brother. So when I noticed Nik checking her out I decided to confess to Vanessa that my brother thought she was hot and that he knew all about her if you get my drift." Kol making a vague gesture towards the crotch of his pants, Caroline gasped a "No you didn't!" while Stefan shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. Kol tilted his head forward and to the side, the look confirming that he did indeed say that before continuing on with his story. "Nik was already making his way over so naturally I introduced the both of them. They talked for a bit and then went to play a game of pool. Nik of course was flirting with Vanessa and Vanessa was flirting back, leaning against one another, Nik helping her with her shots and what not."

Caroline and Stefan were helpless with laughter as they listened to Kol's story. Kol himself was grinning like a mad man as he came to the best part of the story. "So Vanessa decided to help him with one of his shot and while she was showing him how to aim the pool stick she decided to push her stick against his ass." Making the gesture towards the crotch of his pants once more.

Caroline and Stefan burst into gales of laughter, holding their stomachs as they imagined just how Klaus reacted to a finding out that the girl he was flirting with was actually a man. "You should have seen his face!" Kol said as he gasped between his laughter.

"And then I came over to strangle you if memory serves." Klaus said as he came up to the small group and placing his hand on Kol's shoulder, giving it a hard enough squeezed to make Kol yelp with pain, Klaus's face reflecting the same anger he had felt that very night at being the butt of one of Kol's jokes. Caroline and Stefan barely registered the fact that he was there as they were still rolling with laughter.

Klaus just glowered at all of them as they slowly pulled themselves together. Caroline brushed away her tears as she looked up at Klaus, finally acknowledged his presence. Noting his dower expression she slid off of her bar stool to cup his face in her hands as she pressed a soft kiss against his lips.

"Don't be so grumpy, Nik. Not everyone is lucky enough to get felt up by a transvestite." Caroline fell back to clutch her stomach as the three of them erupted in laughter once more. Klaus not at all amused by the quip shot a hard glare at Caroline, the look letting her know her joke was very much unappreciated.

Caroline sobered up enough from her laugher to link her arms loosely around his neck. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." Caroline gave him her sweetest smile and made an effort to look chastised. Klaus still had his angry face on, but it did soften a bit at her apology. Leaning down he gave her a few sweet and savory kisses before pulling back.

"As much as I hate to end your enjoyment at my expense, I'm afraid I must take your escorts for this evening, sweetheart. We have some work to do." Klaus said as he gave Stefan and Kol a slight nod, both men moving to their feet, Stefan's face falling serious where Kol just looked gleeful.

"Work? On a Saturday evening?" Caroline's brows furrowing with confusion as she watched Stefan and Kol make their way out the door, their leader still in her arms.

"Yes, sweetheart. Unfortunately so." Klaus sighed as he leaned down to give her a kiss goodbye. "I'll see you soon." And then he was gone, leaving Caroline with George the bar tender as her only companion.

With a slight tilt of her head she turned to face George. "Does that happen often?" George only gave a slight lift of his shoulder that was neither a yes or a no.

"Caroline, you have to be careful with him." Stefan said as he lay sprawled across her cream sofa, keeping his eyes firmly on the gray walls in front of him as Caroline got ready for her date with Klaus for the night, his eyes flicking over the display of picture frames that dominated the main wall of her little flat.

Caroline stuck her head out of the bathroom to look at her BFF, her golden silky strands currently curled up into hot rollers and mascara wand held in midair. "I am totally aware he is a playboy and a womanizer Stefan."

"Then why are you even trying to date him Caroline? I told you I agreed with Kat about sleeping with him and forgetting him. Dating him is just going to lead you to heartbreak." Stefan glanced behind him to catch Caroline's eyes, trying to impress upon her the seriousness of his warning.

Caroline gave him a sweet smile before she ducked back into the bathroom to resume her primping. "I told him flat out that I wouldn't sleep with him until I thought he was committed to our relationship. He agreed to be in a relationship. HE did. And I can tell when a guy is seriously committed Stefan."

Stefan sighed and as he dropped his head back onto the back of the sofa, crossing his arms as he looked blindly up at the ceiling. "I thought Kat was serious too. And look how that turned out."

Caroline set down her mascara wand and pulling her robe a little tighter around her body as she came out of the bathroom to sit next to Stefan on the sofa, dropping her hand onto his knee to squeeze it gently. Caroline couldn't really say much of anything; in fact she tried to stay out of it. Kat and Stefan were both her best friends and she didn't want to choose a side and somehow both of them managed to respect that choice. "Stefan….."

Stefan lifted his head to give her a weary smile as he lifted his hand to rest on top of hers. "You don't have to say anything Care. All I am saying is that people can be fooled, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Caroline smiled and leaned over to give him a soft kiss against his cheek. "Thank you for always looking out for me. I promise you I will be careful." With that she pulled away from him and made her way back into the bathroom to finish getting ready for her date, leaving Stefan to his worries.

It was a little while later that a knock sounded on her front door. "Can you get that Stef? I'm almost ready." Caroline called out from the bathroom as she shut the door, not wanting Klaus to see her before she put on the finishing touches.

Stefan just shook his head as he pulled himself off the couch to open the front door.

"Stefan?" Klaus said with confusion as his brows pulled together wondering why his enforcer was opening the front door to his girl's flat and then relaxed, remembering that Caroline and Stefan were best friends forever. They always hung out at his pub, why shouldn't they hang out at her place as well?

"Hey, Klaus. Come on in. Caroline is just finishing up." Stefan gave his boss a tight lipped smile as he pulled the door open further to invite him in. Not wanting to make it more awkward then it already was, Stefan walked over to the bathroom and knocked gently. "I am going to take off Care."

The bathroom door opened and Caroline pulled him inside for a quick hug and then pushed him back out and shut the door just as quickly. Stefan laughed and made his way out the front door that was still open. Just as he passed by Klaus he paused to look him in the eye.

"Take care with her." With the warning delivered, he gave Klaus a slight nod and walked out the door, closing it quietly behind him, and before Klaus could contemplate the warning Stefan had given as he walked out the door, the bathroom door opened and his lovely little blue eyed angel made an appearance.

"You are looking ravishing this evening, sweetheart." Klaus smirked as he raked Caroline over with his sea blue eyes. Caroline was indeed a lovely sight, her hair pulled into one of those huge ballerina buns that showcased the graceful curve of her neck and her shoulders, the strapless deep purple dress hugging her slender body leaving enough to the imagination to keep it from looking vulgar, black tights and knee high black suede high heeled boots completing the look.

Caroline smiled at the compliment, taking a moment to look over her date for the evening. Klaus had stuck with his tried and true uniform of dark gray slacks and a dark shirt, this time without the blazer, his dirty blonde curls tamed for the evening, the scruff she found so sexy still gracing his impossible cheekbones.

"Thank you, handsome." Caroline winked as she came forward to press her lips against his own, unable to resist kissing him. Klaus moved to deepen the kiss, but was quickly shut down as Caroline pushed away because she actually wanted to go out on their date. If she allowed him to deepen the kiss they wouldn't leave her flat for another half hour and miss their reservation. With a smile she moved to take her long black jacket off of the coat rack that stood next to the door and pulled it on. November in London showed no mercy for those who were not dressed appropriately. A small smile touched her lips as Klaus curled a dark blue cashmere scarf around her neck.

"Thanks." She breathed softly as he pulled her close to tuck the ends into the front of her jacket. If Caroline was not careful she was going to end up completely smitten with him.

"Where is your jacket?" Caroline murmured softly as she pulled away from him, her hands lifting to smooth the front of his dress shirt against his chest. Klaus smirked as he pulled her back against him, his mouth gazing the curve of her cheek before whispering softly into her ear.

"Why do I need a jacket, when I have you to keep me warm?"

Caroline snorted, the moment broken as she pulled away from him, her head tilting to the side as if to say seriously? "Are you this cheesy on your own? Or does Kol help you with these horrific lines?" Klaus just chuckled as he stroked her cheek with the tips of his fingers.

"You know you love it."

"Oh yeah, it just makes me soooooo hot and bothered." Caroline said as she shimmied her shoulders back and forth gave him her best smoldering look. Klaus laughed again and pulled open the front door to stand in the hallway, pushing his hands into his pockets as he waited for her to grab her clutch and keys and lock the front door. Once she was done, Caroline looped her arm through his and they made their way out of the building to his waiting SUV.

The ride to the restaurant was quiet, Caroline absorbed with the view out the window and Stefan's warning, Klaus's thoughts running along the same lines as Caroline's, Stefan apparently having quite the impact on the handsome couple.

The agenda for their date was dinner and then dancing, the later being one of Caroline's favorite things to do. Caroline smiled as Klaus escorted her into the restaurant, her azure eyes resting on the couples that were twirling on the dance floor, enjoying the view so much she almost wanted to skip dinner and go straight to dancing. The added incentive to go straight to dancing was that Caroline had yet to see Klaus dance and was curious to see if he could even keep a beat.

Klaus helped her with taking her jacket and scarf off. His warm hands ghosting against the bare skin of her shoulders for a moment, sending a shiver up her spine. A smirk confirmed that Klaus had caught the response and Caroline could do nothing but blush. As he came around to sit across from her, she shifted her gaze to focus on the dancing couples once again.

Klaus followed her gaze, a small smile on his lips as he lifted her hand that rested on the table and pressed a small kiss into the palm of her hand, the sweet gesture pulling Caroline's eyes from the couples to the handsome man before her.

"Shall we dance, love?" Caroline flashed him a grin and gave a quick nod of her head, loving the fact that he was willing to shake things up a bit.

Her hand still clasped in his he pulled her out of the chair and lead her onto the dance floor, lifting his arm to spin her around once before pulling her into his arms. Caroline's hands caressing his cheeks for a moment as she slid them to rest around his neck, fingertips playing gently with his hair. Klaus smiled down at the lovely woman in his arms as he led her around the room. After a few silent turns around the dance floor Klaus leaned forward to mummer against the shell of her ear.

"You know, you are quite the dancer."

Caroline grinned as she leaned back a bit in his arms to better look at him. "Well I happened to have had training."

Klaus arched his eye brows at that bit of knowledge."Indeed?"

Caroline mimicked his look as well as his accent. "Indeed." She answered with a confident nod of her head making Klaus chuckle.

"You currently have the honor of dancing with the former Miss Mystic Falls." Caroline said with a smug look on her beautiful face, although the grin that was pulling at her lips was threatening to destroy said smug look.

"Miss Mystic Falls, hmm? Then I am humbled that not only have you allowed me to dance with you but how kind it is of you to share your grace and skill with us commoners on the dance floor this evening." Klaus mocked with a teasing smile, pulling away from her to spin her around once more before pulling her back into his arms. Caroline laughed as she leaned against him, her head tilting to the side as she pressed a quick kiss against his lips.

"You're welcome. It's not every day this happens ya know."

Before Klaus could respond, his pocket started ringing. Caroline gave him a curious frown as he led her off of the dance floor, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check the caller id. His face going from annoyed to concerned as he pressed a kiss against her check before moving away from her.

"Apologies, love. I need to pick this up." And with that he was moving off into one of the hallways with his phone to his ear, leaving Caroline alone. With a soft sigh she slowly started to make her way back to their table to wait for him to return.

Klaus was back at her side before she even managed to sit down, eliciting a small gasp from Caroline as her hand went to her heart. "You scared me!"

Klaus gave her a small smirk before his face took on a more serious look. "I'm afraid I am going to have to cut our date short, sweetheart. I'm needed at the office, some pressing things have come up that require my attention." Caroline lifted her brows as she sighed dejectedly. "I know love. I am as unhappy about it as you are." Klaus said as he ran his hands up and down her arms as if trying to ease her disappointment.

"And none of your other brothers can take care of it?" Caroline asked, chewing on her bottom lip as Klaus moved to collect her jacket and scarf.

"Afraid not, sweetheart. But I promise to make it up to you." Caroline gave him a slight nod as she slipped her arms into the jacket he was holding open for her and then slipped the scarf around her neck.

Taking her hand in his he escorted her out front where two black Range Rovers were waiting. Klaus opened the back door of the first one and helped her inside. "Glenn is going to take you home." Klaus said as he ducked his head into the car to give her a quick kiss, unable to help himself as he gently nibbled on her bottom lip.

Caroline sighed into the kiss, but it was over as quickly as it started, her hand lifting to stroke his cheek, enjoying the feel of his stubble against her hand. "Call me later." Klaus nodded his head at her request and gave her one of his lady killer smiles causing those adorable dimples making an appearance. Caroline loved those dimples so much she could not resist poking her finger into one of them.

"Goodnight, love." And with that he shut the door and the SUV was moving to take her home leaving Caroline to contemplate what could be so serious at 9 p.m. on a Friday night that would Klaus away from their date.

"I don't know Kat…..something is just odd about their whole business thing they have going on."

"What do you mean by odd?"

"Well Nik and I have been official for like a month now ever since I forgave him for being a dick it just seems like every few dates he suddenly has to go take care of things for work in the middle of one of our dates. He gets a phone call and before I know it I am getting a kiss goodbye and he is out the door. I mean do owners of companies do that? And all of this is happening during the evenings and weekends. Doesn't business usually take place during the work day?" Caroline sighed as she paced the perimeter of her apartment, her royal blue velvet track suit hugging her slender figure as she hugged her cell phone between her cheek and shoulder, struggling to put her hair into a messy bun.

"Does it look like I know what the fuck a CEO's hours are? Or how to run a company?"

"Bitch!" Caroline growled as she glared out the window, her fingers curling at the thought of yanking Katherine's chestnut curls out.

"Think about it Caroline. Do you even know what CEO's do or what their hours are? Do you know how the running of a company works or the demands that it makes?"

Caroline chewed on her bottom lip as she paused and considered Kat's questions before replying with a reluctant "No."

"Exactly. It isn't like he is playing Clark Kent to your Lois Lane to go save the city as Superman."

"Wait a minute. You've watched Superman?"

"Are you kidding? Brandon Routh is so fucking hot as Superman. I would rip that suit off of him and –"

"Stop! Point made and I totally do not need that visual."

"You asked."

"I did and I regret it. Anyway, can we please get back to the point?" Caroline said forcefully as she wandered over to her laptop and opened Netflix absently to start searching for the Superman movie with Brandon Routh because let's face it; he was fucking hot and Caroline could only imagine just how much hotter he could be in a skin tight suit.

"As I was saying…it isn't like he has a secret identity Caroline. He runs a company and he is a busy man. And obviously he is fucking good at it because he can afford his own fucking driver. Making money like that - it's no wonder that his work life bleeds into his personal life."

Caroline gave a slight nod of her head in agreement to the argument that was laid before her. It made sense. Still, something just didn't feel right and it gnawed at her. "You're right. I know you are right but…still….. it just …what about Alan? I mean the man was terrified of Nik when he told him to back off from trying to hit on me."

"He was probably scared that Nik was going to have his bouncers kick his ass."

"But you didn't see how scared he was. It was like – "

"Caroline! Stop being a neurotic bitch for once. You are trying to make this into something that it is not and you'll end up fucking things up."

"Ok! Ok! Ok! I'll back off." Caroline yelled as she threw up one of her hands in surrender.

"Thank you."

Caroline paused for a moment, letting the silence stretch out between them before she asked quietly "You don't think he has like a secret wife do you?"

"CAROLINE!"

"Right…..right….. he wouldn't be taking Stefan or Kol with him if it was that, unless they are like part of some kind of creepy Big Love relationship thing."

At that thought Caroline could hear Katherine fall into laughter tinged with disbelief. Caroline knew she had crossed the line for allowing her neurotic tendencies cloud her perception of things.

"Caroline…"

"I know. I know. You should come and visit soon. You are the only one who stops my crazy card from being stamped."

"I will come and visit soon. I promise, although it might be a little awkward with Stefan there."

"Well, I'm not the one who slept with both him and Damon."

"Bitch!"

"Hey! Just calling it like I see it."

Caroline could almost hear Katherine roll her eyes at that.

"Whatever…anyway just remember to back off the crazy with Nik and you should be fine. I'll check my schedule to see when I can come and visit. I expect a ride in this Range Rover you keep talking about."

Caroline grinned at that request. "I promise I will back off the crazy and make sure you ride in style when you come to visit."

"Love ya bitch."

"Love you too Kat."