Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing.

Note: Previously, in "When You Least Expect It," Caroline meets with Liz for their annual lunch at the Grill, and learns that her mother has reconnected with her old boyfriend from high school and is now engaged to him.

Hey, guys! I just got an idea for this next chapter while bathing. No spoilers, just keep reading.

AND AWAY WE GO!

Mystic Falls Medical Center – That Same Moment…

Klaus banged his fist against the locker, not even flinching at the resulting pain. He had lost a patient. While death was something he was accustomed to as an oncologist, this one was sort of personal. The patient who died was a woman in her forties by the name of Ramona Hodgins, who had also worked in the oncology ward several years earlier before moving to a private practice outside of town. The culprit: lung cancer. She had been taken aback by the diagnosis, since she had never smoked a day in her life. Of course, cancer was a disease that attacked whether the victim was rich, poor, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Catholic, Jewish, etc.

Ramona had taken a turn for the worst during the night, and she died in the early morning hours. Telling the family was difficult. She had left behind a husband, Kyle, and four children, ages 5-16. When Klaus had told Kyle about his wife's death, he had flown into a rage, demanding why his wife didn't receive better care, and Klaus had tried to explain himself to the man as sympathetically as possible, but got punched in the face. Klaus would have retaliated in kind, but for the sake of the children, he forced himself to show restraint and left the family to discuss funeral arrangements.

As he thought about the scene he had been in, he wondered why the hell he had sighed on to this profession in the first place, especially given the low survival rate of the patients that came through these doors.

Deciding that it wouldn't do any good to dwell on it, he changed out of his scrubs and getting into regular clothes, clocking out, and then heading out to his car. Once there, he took his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts, coming across Caroline's number. While it was true that he could easily call Elijah and discuss it with him, he doubted his brother would have been as comforting as the beautiful wedding planner he had danced with at Kol's wedding, even if they didn't know each beyond that encounter. He dialed the number and climbed into the car while it rang. When it got to the third ring, he was prepared to leave a message on her voice mail when he heard her voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

Smiling, he replied, "Caroline, love, I was hoping I'd get to talk to you."

"Klaus. I was just talking about you with my mom."

"Really? It must have been quite a conversation if my name came up," said Klaus. "I was just leaving work and I was wondering if you'd be inclined to join me for coffee."

There was a bit of silence on the other end as Caroline considered what to tell him. Finally, she said, "I think I could spare an hour or two. It's not very busy right now. I'm still here at the Mystic Grill if you want to meet me here. My mom just left a few minutes ago. The work of the town sheriff is never done."

Klaus nodded. "I'll be there in five minutes."

Without waiting for her to answer him, he hung up the phone and drove off toward his destination. He had gone to the Mystic Grill several times, mostly with his colleagues from work. He even went on a blind date there last year. Fortunately, said blind date was a total disaster, and, after agreeing to never talk of the ruined evening to anyone, they agreed to remain friends. Klaus shook his head, banishing that thought from his mind. He was going to meet with Caroline, not dwell on something as trivial as a failed blind date.

Mystic Grill – Five Minutes Later…

Klaus arrived at the Grill as promised and saw Caroline waiting for him at the newly cleared table. He smiled at her as he walked toward the table and sat down across from her. For a few minutes, there was a silence between them until Caroline spoke first, her curiosity piqued.

"Well, I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this. After we danced at your brother's wedding, I thought it was a one time thing and we'd just go our separate ways and I'd never see you again, except for when Lexi and Kol celebrate their anniversary."

"I can assure you, love, I had every intention of seeing you again," said Klaus. "You're not the kind of woman a man like me forgets easily."

Caroline blushed, but ignored it as she said, "When you called before, you said you were just leaving work. Where do you work?"

"Mystic Falls Medical Center," said Klaus, his smile fading. "I'm a doctor. More specifically, I'm an oncologist."

"In other words, you're a cancer doctor," said Caroline. "Pediatric or adult? I'm sorry if it seems like I'm prying, but I just want to know, because cancer doesn't discriminate between ages."

"Adults," said Klaus. "Though, it's every bit as tragic when a patient succumbs to his or her illness." He rubbed his sore cheek. "Take today, for example. A patient, who also happened to be a colleague, died of lung cancer."

"Oh my God, that's terrible," said Caroline. "Did she smoke?"

"No, she never smoked a day in her life," said Klaus. "She still contracted it, and she endured four months of treatment. She was a young woman, in her forties. Married with four children, the youngest of which being five years old. Needless to say, her husband didn't take the news very well, and he landed a good punch in my face when I told him the news of his wife's death. Had it not been for the fact that the children were in the room, I would have done the same to him."

"I'm sorry," said Caroline. "I didn't know that your job was so dangerous."

"It's not anything I'm already used to," said Klaus. "Patients die all the time. And distraught family members go with it, including my colleague's now widowed husband."

Caroline could see that he was getting agitated, so she decided to change the subject. "Well, on a lighter note, I was just commissioned to plan my mother's wedding."

Klaus smiled again, grateful for the change in subject. "Really? I do say, love, that is quite an honor. Who's the lucky groom?"

"Victor O'Brien, her old boyfriend from high school," said Caroline. "They kind of lost touch for a while after my mom married my dad, and they reconnected about two months ago. Long story short, he proposed to her. I gave her my blessing, as well as agreed to help them plan their wedding."

"He sounds like a good man."

"He is," said Caroline. "He's the first man to make her smile since my parents divorced, and if my mom's happy, that's all I need to know." Clearing her throat, she added, "Of course, that doesn't mean that this wedding isn't going to be easy, given the fact that we both have very strong personalities."

"I have no doubt that you'll do a fantastic job," said Klaus. "My family is still raving about Kol's wedding, even if it has only been two weeks. Speaking of Kol, we received a postcard. He and Alexia are spending their honeymoon in Hawaii."

"Yeah, Lexi said that she always wanted to have her honeymoon in Hawaii," said Caroline. "Of course, I sort of envy her. I've dreamed of having my honeymoon there since I was about twelve years old." She laughed slightly. "You're going to think I'm pathetic for saying that, but..."

"On the contrary, love, I don't think you're pathetic, not at all," said Klaus. "As a matter of fact, I feel the same way you do. My brothers, Finn and Elijah, are married, as is my sister, Rebekah. My other brother, Henrik is on the verge of getting engaged to his sweetheart, Francesca, and my father is married to my stepmother, Eleanor. I, on the other hand, am still unattached."

Caroline nodded. "I guess not a lot of women would be able to handle being married to an oncologist, given the busy schedule and everything."

"Would you ever consider it? Getting married?" When she didn't answer, he added, "Caroline? Did you hear what I said?"

Caroline bit her lip. "I heard you, Klaus. I just...gave up on men."

"You don't seem like the type to give up on anything." He placed his hand on top of hers. "Why did you give up on men?"

"My ex-boyfriend, Tyler, he...he...raped me," said Caroline. "It was just before Bonnie and I opened our business. We were at a party and we had been drinking. Of course, Tyler had about five too many and he wanted to get frisky. I said no, that he was too drunk. He didn't listen and the next thing I knew, he hit me and forced me onto the bed, ripped off my clothes, and..."

Klaus saw that she was crying as she explained what happened to her, which made his blood boil. No woman should ever endure something as horrible as that. He wanted to track Tyler down and castrate him for what he had done.

"You didn't deserve what happened to you, Caroline," he said finally. "Drunk or not, what he did was sick and unacceptable. You are the kind of woman who should be respected, worshipped, and if your ex chose to hurt you the way he did, then he is not worthy of you."

Caroline didn't say anything, just listened as he spoke. She wanted to discourage him, but couldn't bring herself to. He sounded so sincere, like one of those knights she read about in fairy tales when she was a little girl. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that Klaus was that knight in the flesh. Then, before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and kissed him, hearing him moan against her mouth as he returned it.

Note: I think I'll end Chapter 4 here.

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