Chapter 16

Mystic Falls, VA

-2012-

Matt was going crazy. Rebekah had been the head of the planning committee for the Winter Dance, and all he could think about was mustering up the courage to ask her to go with him. The only problem was that he wasn't entirely sure that pursuing Rebekah was a good idea. He didn't know if they were too different. She was a one thousand year old gorgeous vampire, and he was football-playing waiter. Before he had time to decide, he noticed the beautiful blonde sauntering up to him.

"Hello, Matt. How are you today?" She asked, her face lighting up as she smiled.

As soon as he saw her smile, he knew his decision. "Hey, Rebekah. I'm fine. Actually, I wanted to ask you something," said Matt nervously, as Rebekah cocked her head. "Would you go to the dance with me?" He asked hopefully, his tense shoulders sagging in relief when a grin spread across her face.

"Really? Of course I'll go with you!" She squealed, pecked Matt on the cheek, and skipped away, leaving Matt to shake his head, grinning, and walk away. He was relieved that he had gotten that over with. Now all he needed was the strength to get through an entire night with the overly-enthusiastic original vampire.

Kol had been pacing outside of Bonnie's house for ten minutes. He knew that he looked like an idiot, but he didn't know what else to do. Things were finally starting to look up for him where Bonnie was concerned, and he didn't want to mess it up, but he wanted to check on her. Nik had told him about the Lockwood boy's bad reaction to hearing the pregnancy news, and he wanted to make sure that Bonnie was okay. He knew, however, that Bonnie would find him creepy for even knowing about what happened, and he didn't want to take a step back in their relationship.

Finally deciding that he needed to know that she was okay, no matter the implications, he knocked.

When Bonnie opened the door to see Kol's concerned face replaced with relief, she was confused. When Kol stepped forward and embraced her suddenly, burying his face in her hair, she was pretty sure that she was hallucinating.

"Thank goodness you're alright, Bonnie. I've been so worried. I can kill Tyler Lockwood for you, if you want," he offered, pulling back to look at her face.

Bonnie couldn't help it, she was flattered. "Of course you can't kill Tyler. He's my friend. I knew that he would be angry when he found out, and unfortunately I was the closest person to him when the werewolf-rage hit. But thank you for being concerned. It means… something," she said, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"Something?" He asked, an amused smirk forming on his lips.

Bonnie flushed, her eyes suddenly finding her shoes very interesting. She didn't know what it was about Kol that intrigued her. She remembered a time when she couldn't even tolerate his advances, and now it seemed as though she was the one who was advancing…

"I didn't know that you cared," she said quietly, her eyes locking with his.

"Of course I do, darling," He said sincerely, his eyes softening as he took in her hesitant expression.

As she looked at him, brown hair falling into his beautiful eyes, her breath hitched. Something deep inside of her was now dictating her movements. Taking advantage of his hands that were still placed on her arms, she leaned forward slowly, never breaking eye-contact, slid an arm round his neck and pressed her lips to his. She heard him gasp in surprise before his arms wound around her waist, pulling her closer, both of her hands tangled in her hair.

She gasped as his tongue found her lips, begging for entry, and she parted them without hesitation. As Bonnie surrendered herself to the unfolding passion, she was vaguely aware of Kol pulling her legs to wrap around his waist and carrying her into the house, slamming the door behind him.

Bittersweet. That was the only emotion that Klaus could think of to sum up how he felt. He was happy that Caroline's mother had taken the news so well, and even more so that she was there for him. It made him feel like he had a mother for the first time in a long time. The only problem was that he still felt miserable when he thought of Caroline and their baby. He knew that no matter what happened, he would remember, but it was more than that. His heart and body ached to see Caroline again, in person. He knew that there was a chance that she would reject him once she was reminded of all of the terrible things that he had done, but at least he would be able to look at her. He missed her so much. He couldn't remember a time when he had felt like this in all of his one thousand years.

Deciding that wallowing in self-pity was a little too depressing, he got up and headed to the Grill to wallow in the pity of others.

"Klaus, haven't seen you in a few days, how you holding up?" Stefan asked from his spot at the bar when he spotted his old friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll take a scotch on the rocks," he said, sitting down next to Stefan.

"You don't look fine, man. Why else would you be drinking at 2 o'clock on a Tuesday?" Stefan asked, as his phone chimed.

"I could ask you the same thing, mate," Klaus said, taking a sip of his scotch.

"Hey, don't tell Elena. We've just been spending a lot of time together lately, and I needed a little me-time. In a way, I guess I have you to thank for that! All of this time-travel stuff has made Elena realize that you never know when you're going to lose someone, and it's giving her all kind of justification for being with me all the time. Can't say I'm unhappy, if you know what I mean." Stefan smirked, looking at his phone. "Oh, she wants me to come over again. Sorry, buddy, gotta go be with my girl," he said, standing and patting Klaus on the shoulder before walking out.

Figures, Klaus thought, as he downed the rest of his drink. So much for other people's pity. Just as he was about to call it and go back home, someone sat beside him and ordered a scotch.

"Haven't seen you in a while," Klaus said, without looking over at the newcomer.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't an accident. I haven't wanted to be anywhere near Elena or my brother since she made her choice," said a broody Damon Salvatore as he took a sip of his drink.

"How do you deal with it? Having the woman you love chose someone else? Does the pain last forever?" Klaus whispered, turning his head slightly to face Damon.

"Oh yeah, I heard about your Caroline situation. Worried she'll come back and go back to Tyler?" Damon asked, smirking.

"So what if I am? I'm not ashamed of feeling this way. I love her," Klaus said, downing the rest of his second drink.

"Wow. Liz wasn't kidding, you really have changed. To answer your original question, no pun intended, no. It never gets easier. To see her with someone else is as painful as having her rip my heart out every day," he responded, ordering another drink.

"That's encouraging, thanks mate," Klaus said, feeling worse than he did when he arrived.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't think there's any way that Caroline will go back to Tyler," Damon said.

"How can you be so sure?" Klaus asked hesitantly.

"For one thing, she has spent over a year with you, so obviously she tolerates you, and for another, Tyler is beyond furious that she married you and is having your kid. He won't ever take her back. The only competition you have is yourself. Just be yourself. Be the you that she fell in love with, and there's no way that she's gonna reject you," Damon said, getting up to leave, tossing some bills on the bar.

"Why are you being nice to me?" Klaus asked, legitimately curious.

"Because I've been in that kind of pain. Still am, actually. And to live through torture like that, you need a little hope," he said, walking out of the Grill.

-993-

Niklaus was nervous. Caroline was only eight months along, and she had started having such severe pains that Ayana had to give her a remedy. Caroline had assured him that everything was fine and that she was sure it was a false alarm, but he couldn't help but worry. So naturally, when Ayana came out of the room looking nervous herself, he thought he might pull his hair out.

"What is it, Ayana?" He demanded, hoping that everything was alright with Caroline.

"You need to get the midwife here immediately. She is going to have the baby now," Ayana said, throwing him a pitying look as she walked back to join Caroline.

He was beside himself. He yelled for Rebekah to get the midwife, and told Elijah to keep Henrik busy so that he wouldn't be around, and now all that he could do was wait. He dropped his head into his hands. He was interrupted by Ayana's footsteps.

"Niklaus, your wife would like you to be present for the birth."

Sorry for the wait! This past episode has upset my writer's brain! As I finished the episode, I told my sister, "I'm not sure if Klaroline just died or just began…" And I'm still not sure… But anyways, how was the chapter? Sorry that it was a bit shorter than the last, but I have the next two days off of school, so hopefully I will have time for another update. I am so thankful for all of your support for this story. It is honestly what keeps me writing, and I am grateful. So enjoy, and please feel free to leave feedback! Also, if you are in a Klaroline mood (as I usually am) don't forget that I have five Klaroline videos on my YouTube channel (MalfoysLover) that would love to be watched and commented on! ;P Until next time~