"Maddie stop twirling your hair," Klaus said as the bus lurched forward the bus driver eager to get back to the school after a long day of waiting for the group in a hot parking lot.
Klaus glared at him when he looked back to make sure the children where okay the man quickly slowed down as he looked at the child sat next to his niece.
He studied him longer than he intended to finding the boy looking up at him in amazed wonder Klaus smiled at him sensing something familiar about him.
He had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen with just a flicker of green, eyes he'd seen only once before, "Are you alright?" he asked, "That was a bit of a bump back there."
"I hit my head," the little boy said rubbing the side of his head that had hit the metal deathtrap earlier thanks to the carelessness of the bus driver.
"How about a diversion?" he asked the boy opening Maddie's notebook and giving him a scrap sheet the boy grinned nodding, "Would like a pencil?"
He nodded once more his curly blonde locks shaking as he did, Klaus blinked a multitude of times as he watched him barely hearing Maddie's soft humming.
Klaus couldn't understand why he thought of her, he hadn't thought of her in ages, actually not true he just hadn't seen her in ages.
He pushed her back focusing instead on his niece and the boy who seemed to get along quite well sharing ideas about what they were working on.
As he shifted in his seat snapping a quick shot of Maddie to horrify his sister with later for riding in what she liked to call 'Transportation for commoners' when bus finally pulled into the school parking lot.
The doors opened as their teachers stood and started announcing the instructions for the chaperones like himself before they started to let the children off.
"What is that?" he asked leaning over him trying to decipher what he had been trying to create when his mind clicked and he smiled, "A bird?" he inquired.
The boy nodded bopping his head around as he continued drawing the wings, "My mom says that my daddy had one on his arm like this," he told Klaus.
His eyebrows shot up at the coincidence, "How funny, I have-" he said incredulity filling him as the boy shot up and Klaus looked around to realize that only the three of them where left.
He grabbed Maddie's hand and walked them to the front lifting Maddie into his arms as the boy walked in front of them practically racing when he found someone in the crowd.
"Mommy," he exclaimed as he ran down the steps onto the sidewalk Klaus turned to find a blonde woman with similar curls to his own bent over hugging the boy.
"Oh, look at you," she said excitedly as she stood up still hugging him at her stomach, "I missed you today," she told him kissing his head.
Her head lifted as he stood awestruck on the steps of the bus crowding them his chest feeling a bit too tight as his niece held onto him and the realization that hit him.
"Klaus," she said calling him by his name, his mouth went slack as he forgot to breath his feet stepping down one by one this much closer to her.
"Caroline," his head moved in amazement his body tingling he felt Maddie slide from his side quickly finding a friend nearby uncaring of what was happening.
"Fuck," she muttered swallowing hard before her eyes almost bugged out as she covered her sons ears too late making him giggle.
"Mommy said a bad word," he said snickering as she let go of his ears to pull on her own hair in clear distress from the sight of him.
"Madeline," Klaus said without looking over at his niece who was still on the bench, "Sit still while I talk to that lady," he said as he approach Caroline.
Caroline heard that and grabbed the boy stalking off with him, "I'm not talking to you," she said as she turned the sidewalk and Klaus followed behind them.
She looked back from the corner of her eyes her face, just as beautiful as ever even as angry as she was just now, "Let's go Will," she said as she grabbed the backpack from his shoulders.
"Oh yes you are," Klaus said using his long legs to step in stride right next to her his hands in his pockets as he walked ahead of Caroline then turned on her.
She stopped before bumping into his chest, "Get out of my way or I'll go through you," she warned him tilting up her chin as her hand moved her son behind her.
Klaus' eyes flickered from her to him peeking out of the side of her dress with clear interest at who had his mother all riled up, "I want to have a word," he said quietly not wanting to quarrel.
They stood eying one another, Caroline's lip quivering as she willed herself not to cry and his whole being on edge at the thought that he'd missed so much.
"Shouldn't you go get your daughter?" she asked cutting through the penetrating tension as a frazzled hand ran through her hair.
"She's not my daughter," he said remembering how words worked, "She's my niece, Rebekah's," he clarified recalling the December he took her home to meet his family.
He covered his mouth as the boy revealed himself once more standing next to Caroline, "But he's mine isn't he?" Klaus asked not needing a confirmation as his eyes met Will's.
"When did you get back?" she asked him answering him with a question in return instead, not that he needed the answer now.
"Just last month," he told her, "A new position opened up so I took it and came back home," he explained wishing he'd come home sooner.
"Oh," Caroline said like his answer had hit her, "I-I didn't know that you'd been back," she looked down at Will, "He's four," she told him.
"I gathered," he said slowly stepping closer hoping she gathered that he came in peace, "I should have called, I wanted to, but I didn't know if you'd want to hear from me."
"I have to get to my mother's," she said softly looking at her watch, "Um," she sighed as she began digging through her purse finding a card.
"My number is there, or my address, whatever," she said still shaking as she handed it to him careful not to touch him as he took it.
"Will is spending the night at his grandma's tonight so you can stop by," she whispered Klaus nodded a new feeling coursing in his veins.
"It's very nice to meet you," he said to Will who smiled as he took his hand and shook it he felt her eyes on him through the entire encounter.
He took a step back locking eyes with Caroline, "I'll be seeing you," he murmured to her as he showed her the card she handed him tucking it into his chest pocket right by his heart.
The corner of Caroline's lip quirked into a semblance of a smile in the last second before he looked away finding his niece Maddie already running towards him.