A/N: Just a side note: this chapter is pretty smutty all around, so if that's something you tend to avoid I would stop reading after Elijah leaves Liz. Otherwise, please enjoy!

Chapter 23

Mystic Falls, VA

2012

Once Klara and Carina had been tucked in and kissed goodnight after an exhausting evening with their aunt and uncles, Klaus thought he had never been so tired in his life. Sure, he had dealt with the two-year-olds when he was human, but that was one thousand years ago. One thousand was definitely too old to be dealing with toddlers, he thought as he removed his shirt in preparation for a much needed night of relaxation.

Caroline, however, had other plans as she came up behind him and pressed a kiss to the triangle tattooed on his shoulder. As he turned to face her with dark eyes, she caught a first glimpse of his other tattoo, a feather disintegrating into a flock of birds.

"I like these," she murmured appreciatively, her eyes following her fingers as they slowly traced the dark ink.

Growling in newly-awakened frustration, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her so that she was flush against him.

"Is that so? I was a little worried you'd come back here and yell at me for getting doing it without your permission," he said with a smirk as he brought his lips to her exposed neck.

As her hands found their way to his curls he brought his mouth back to hers and his hands found the hem of her shirt and swiftly pulled it over her head before finding her lips again. She moaned into his mouth as his hands cupped her butt, pulling her as close as possible to his evident arousal. He unhooked her bra and threw it to the floor before breaking their kiss and looking over her with pure admiration. It had been so long since he had seen her body, and he had longed for it ever since.

His lips met her shoulder and moved slowly downwards, along her breasts and ribcage before coming to rest just above her pants. He knelt in front of her and unbuttoned her jeans before pulling them down swiftly. She placed her hands on his shoulders to keep her balance as she stepped out of her pants and helped him to his feet before finding and unfastening his belt and removing his pants. She took a moment to look him over before her lust-filled eyes met his.

Seeing that look in her eyes was all he needed. He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up so that she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist. She fisted her fingers in his hair and captured his mouth passionately with hers as he backed them up onto the bed. They broke apart as she pushed herself back onto the pillows as he crawled towards her like a predator eyeing his prey.

He stopped suddenly when Caroline let out a loud groan and flopped back against the pillows, her eyes closing as a satisfied grin broke out across her face. He tilted his head for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Caroline, love, I'm confused. Do you not need me anymore?" he asked with a smirk as she begrudgingly propped herself up on her forearms and looked him in the eyes.

"Wait, what? Oh! No! I just… this bed is so unbelievably comfortable. I think being in the past has done a number on my back and I'm still recovering," she said quietly as her cheeks flushed a deep red.

Klaus stared for a few seconds before his shoulders started shaking and he fell over onto the bed, clutching his stomach. Caroline crawled towards him, concern written all over her face until she realized that he was laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. Upset that he was so amused by her embarrassment, she plopped down on her butt and crossed her legs and arms like a toddler. After a few minutes, Klaus sat up, wiping the tears from his eyes and noticed her childish posture.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, that was just not the reaction I was expecting the first time I got you into my bed in one thousand years. I thought maybe I should leave you and the bed alone to get acquainted," he said, his eyes dancing with mirth. She threw a pillow at his chest.

"It isn't funny, Klaus!" She yelled, clamping a hand over her mouth as she realized that the girls were trying to sleep.

"Oh, so it's back to Klaus now, is it?" he asked sardonically as he leaned back against the headboard and pulled her to his lap. She immediately switched up her position so that she was straddling him, both hands on his neck.

"It's interesting. I've called you Nik for the past three years, but in that moment I couldn't help but call you Klaus," she said, tilting her head quizzically, trying to understand.

"It's because human-Nik was a lot more shy and polite, and once you were faced again with this side of hybrid-Klaus, that's the name that came to your head," he said simply, playing with one of her messy curls.

"So, you're not upset?" she asked quietly as she wound her fingers around his necklaces.

"Why would I be upset? Yes, you have called me Nik for the past three years, but that's also because I never went by Klaus in that time. You first met and got to know me as Klaus, so it's only natural for there to be some name confusion now. I love when you call me Nik, because it reminds me of our time together when we were human, but you can call me whatever you like, as long as I can call you mine," he said matter-of-factly as he looked into her eyes.

It was then that she realized how right he was. When she looked into his eyes, she could see all of the emotion that had always been there since the start of their courtship one thousand years ago, but she could also see everything that had made him who he was in the present.

"Of course I'm yours," she said simply, lowering her lips to his slowly. "I'll always be yours."

Liz was going insane. She knew that Caroline was back in town thanks to a hurried text from Elijah a few hours earlier, but she hadn't seen or heard a thing from her daughter since. She knew that Caroline and the girls would need time to get re-acquainted with Mystic Falls and the complexity that is Klaus, but she also hadn't seen her daughter in weeks.

Just as she was about to get in her car and head over to the mansion, there was a knock on the door. She opened it quickly, expecting to see Caroline and Klaus, but instead there was only Elijah, looking rather uncomfortable. Elijah knew that Liz was probably restless now that she knew Caroline was back, but he also knew that his brother had been waiting a really long time to have Caroline reciprocate his feelings, and he didn't anticipate they would be leaving the bedroom tonight.

"Hello Liz," he said hesitantly, knowing full well that she was currently armed.

"Elijah. I would say it's nice to see you, but considering the circumstances, I'm sure you'll understand," she said stiffly, motioning for him to come inside.

"I can't come in. That is, I haven't been invited," he said quickly, hoping that the Sheriff would extend the offer instead of slamming the door in his face.

"Oh, right, sorry. Sometimes I forget you're a vampire. Please come in," she said, walking to the living room as Elijah followed. "So, what brings you here, Elijah?" she wondered, hoping that it would be something to take her mind off of her granddaughters that she had yet to meet.

"Well, I just came from visiting Niklaus, and I assumed that you hadn't been visited, so I thought you might like to know that everyone is safe and in one piece," he said politely, taking a seat in the armchair in the living room.

"That's kind of you. I wish that my daughter would show me the same kindness," she said sadly as she took a seat across from him.

"Liz, trust me, if Caroline and my brother had the choice, they wouldn't see the light of day for at least another few days," Elijah said, clearing his throat as he noticed the uncomfortable blush settling across the Sheriff's cheeks. "Forgive me, that was rather blunt. I just meant that Rebekah basically forced herself upon them tonight, and Kol and I followed along to make sure that we could get her to leave once the night was through. Caroline mentioned wanting to come see you tomorrow, with the girls, but you have to understand, my brother hasn't seen Caroline, the one who actually loves him, in one thousand years. They need time to get back into their marriage. I would imagine that she will need to adjust to the character attributes that my brother has picked up in this millennium, and he will have to overlook her leaving him for all of this time. It won't be easy, so the real reason I came here was to suggest that you offer to watch Klara and Carina as much as possible in these next few weeks," he said, unsure how the Sheriff would take his suggestion.

"I see. I understand what you're saying, Elijah, I really do, but don't you think they should get to know each other in the presence of their daughters? Wouldn't it just take more adjusting later on if I'm watching them all the time? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure once I meet them I will never want to let them out of my sight, I am just concerned. Klaus hasn't spent time with his daughters in e thousand years," she said honestly.

"Yes, they will obviously need to figure out their family dynamic, but the kind of re-acquainting that I'm referring to is the kind best done away from children," he said, feeling his cheeks warm at the implications.

"Alright, Elijah, I get it. Klaus and Caroline are going to be going at it all the time, but can we please stop talking about it? I know they're married with children, but that's still my baby girl!" Liz finished, sighing as she dropped her face into her hands.

"I apologize for my frankness, I simply thought I should warn you, having been around during their first 'honeymoon' stage, meaning their literal honeymoon, and I would imagine that this one will be much more… involved," he said, standing and smoothing his suit jacket. "Nevertheless, I should leave. Like I said, I'm sure Caroline will be by to see you tomorrow, but if not, I'm sure you could give my brother a call. Goodbye Liz," Elijah said as he showed himself out, leaving a rather mortified Sheriff in his wake.

They had been kissing like that, Caroline straddling his waist, both of them completely naked, for at least half an hour, and Klaus was about to snap. It wasn't that he didn't love the feel of her lips on his or the taste of her tongue as it explored his mouth, but in all fairness, he had been waiting a lot longer than she had. He was also trying to suppress his vampire urges, because he wanted nothing more than to drop his fangs, but he didn't know how she would respond, seeing as they had never been together as vampires before, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could control it.

Luckily, before he had time to consider it further, he hissed as he felt something sharp poke his tongue. Caroline squeaked and broke away from him with a hand over her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, it's been so long and I haven't really fed and…" before she could finish, Klaus grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her mouth. He had never seen her vampire face, but it did nothing but arouse him further. Brushing a stray curl behind her ear, he looked into her eyes. She watched his face change, her eyes darkening with lust.

He used his vampire speed to flip them so that he was on top. He pressed his mouth to hers quickly and broke away again.

"You are so beautiful, Caroline," he said huskily. She blushed crimson. Secretly, she was relieved. She had never experienced this bloodlust during sex, so to have him so openly accept the darkest parts of her was exhilarating. This was also the first time that she had seen his hybrid face, and it was sexy as hell.

He positioned himself at her opening, but stilled for a moment. Caroline was breathing heavily and staring darkly at the vein in his neck. He smirked and tilted his head.

"Have at it, love," he whispered. That was all she needed. Just as her fangs punctured his neck, he thrust into her, groaning as he felt her moan into his neck, her fingernails piercing the skin of his shoulders.

He kept a steady pace, but before too long, he felt Caroline retract her fangs from his neck. He pulled back slightly to look her in the eye.

"Love, it's alright, I'm fine," he said, taking a moment to wipe a drop of blood from her chin.

"I know you think you are, and I know you think you're protecting me, but I can tell that you want to drink from me," she said softly, playing with the damp curls at the back of his neck.

He kissed her then, and slowly moved his lips to her pulse point, sucking lightly.

"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered, as she moaned from his ministrations.

"I know, but you won't because I'll be drinking from you at the same time," he still seemed hesitant. "Please, Nik. I want you to." That was all the encouragement he needed. He leaned forward and softly punctured her neck. She moaned loudly before her fangs found their place on his neck. Once they were both feasting, he felt her legs wrap around his waist and he started thrusting again.

Between his blood in her mouth and his hands on her breasts, it wasn't long before she felt herself tighten. She screamed as she came, detaching her mouth from his neck and digging her fingernails into his shoulders. With a few more passionate thrusts, he groaned as he joined her.

He brought his lips to hers, sliding his tongue into her mouth, reveling in the taste of their blood entwined. He pulled out and fell back onto the bed, pulling her with him so that she curled up beside him with her head on his chest. They were both still breathing heavily when she turned to look up at him, her lazy grin mirrored on his mouth.

"I love you," she said, not knowing how else to show her appreciation for what they had just done.

"I love you too. So much, Caroline," he replied. As she snuggled in to his neck, he pressed a kiss to her messy curls and closed his eyes as he listened to her even breathing.

Caroline jolted awake at the sound of crying. It took her a moment to realize where she was before she slowly and begrudgingly slid away from her husband, kissing him sweetly on the mouth before getting out of bed.

As she slipped her underwear and his shirt over her head, she heard him stir.

"I can get them, love," he said groggily. She smiled and shook her head.

"It's fine, Nik. Besides, we should probably give them another day to get used to your short hair," she joked, earning a pillow to the side of the head. "Hey!" she giggled, blowing him a loud kiss before walking out of the room.

Luckily the girls didn't actually need anything, because Caroline was not in the mood to feed them. All she could think about was getting back to her naked husband in their warm bed. Once she had calmed Klara and Carina down, she crept carefully out of their room and towards Klaus.

As she was about to open the door, she heard a shout followed by a loud thump as if something had hit the ground. She smiled at the thought of Klaus falling out of bed and pushed the door open. She switched on the light to help him out, but the smile was wiped off of her face by what she saw.

Klaus sat on the floor with nothing but a sheet covering his lower half. He was clutching his head and his eyes were closed. As she approached him, he opened them, and she stepped back startled. She remembered the emotions that she had seen reflected in those beautiful eyes as they had made love only a few hours earlier, but none of those were present now. She had never seen so much betrayal and sadness in her entire life.

It was then that she realized what was happening. He was getting his memories from when she left and the time that followed. So much time. She watched in a horrified stupor as his eyes changed with each new memory. She moved towards him to place a hand on his shoulder, but he moved away. She could see fear in his eyes. A single tear made its way down her cheek as she watched her strong hybrid break before her. Caroline had always been a fixer, and she needed to fix him. Now.

Oh no! Klaus is getting the memories back! Sorry to do it like this, but I knew that I wanted to give them at least one good smutty blood sharing sex scene before he remembered. And no, they aren't going to break up, and no, this won't change Klaus' love for Caroline or the girls. It's just going to be a small obstacle. He knows that it isn't Caroline's fault that she left him, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't feel betrayed. The next chapter will be about them dealing with that.

To 29, thanks for the review, and I understand why you thought Caroline was a little OOC, but I felt that it needed to be that way, because of what will come later. Sorry if you don't agree, but thanks for reading!

Anyway, thank you all for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting! I already have another story in the works, but I'm not going to officially start writing until this one is done, which won't be for at least another 8-10 chapters. I hope you enjoyed this update! Until next time~