Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing. Only the story is mine.

Note: Previously, in "When You Least Expect It," Caroline attends the Mikaelson holiday party and learns Lexi had been pregnant, but miscarried.

Hey, everyone! The idea for this chapter came to me recently and I thought I'd share. No spoilers, just enjoy what I have for you!

ON WITH THE STORY!

Later…

Klaus poured himself a glass of wine and swished the liquid around before sipping it. The leukemia patient who had a bad reaction to the chemo back in August had another reaction, this time it was fatal. Thankfully, her husband didn't punch him in the face like Ramona's Hodgins' husband did, but that didn't mean her death didn't affect him. It had been a rough day, and Klaus just wanted to forget all about it.

He stared at the contents in the goblet and just before he took another sip, he heard the door open and close. Klaus turned around to see Caroline walking in, carrying Liam's car seat. That was when he realized that she had gone to the family Christmas party in his stead. A smile appeared on his face and he went to greet them.

"How was the party?"

Caroline returned her husband's smile. "It was good. Everyone asked for you, of course." She noticed the goblet in his hand. "Let me guess, rough day at work?"

"You don't know the half of it, love," her husband replied. "Remember the leukemia patient I was treating back in August?"

"The one who had a bad reaction to the chemo?"

Klaus nodded. "The very same. She had another reaction today. We did everything we could to save her, but in the end, it wasn't enough and she died. Thankfully, her husband didn't strike me in the face the way Ramona's husband did, but it was a big loss nonetheless."

Caroline saw the expression on her husband's face. "There was nothing you could have done, Nik. Maybe it was her time. Besides, didn't you tell me that you were accustomed to death?"

"Yes, I did," he replied. "But, none of the others affected me half as much as this one."

He lifted Liam out of the car seat and decided to change the subject. "I take it Father wasn't pleased with the fact that Ansel is going to be in our lives?"

Caroline shook her head, remembering their conversation. "No, he wasn't. I told him I respected him for wanting to do what he thinks is best for the family, but I also said that you saw no reason to treat Ansel as a threat now that Esther is out of the picture for good. I went on to tell him that nothing has changed, and that he's still Liam's grandfather, as so are my dad and Victor."

Klaus smiled. He had no doubt Caroline would be able to get through to Mikael, given their close relationship. In fact, she had come to view Mikael as another father figure in her life, and it pleased him to know that she'd always have him to turn to if she ever needed him. Klaus then saw that his wife had gotten awfully quiet.

"Are you all right, love?"

"I'd be lying if I said I was, so I'll just come out and say it. I wasn't the only one who went solo. Lexi was there by herself as well, because Kol had a photo shoot."

Klaus nodded. "At least she had you to keep her company so that she didn't feel like she was the odd woman out."

"Yeah, that was the good part," said Caroline. "While I was speaking to her, she wasn't her cheerful self and I was concerned, since I was her friend long before I joined the family. I asked her what was wrong and she told me she was pregnant."

"That's good news," said Klaus. "There's going to be another Mikaelson grandchild." He saw that she wasn't smiling. "Why so serious? I would think you'd be happy about that bit of news."

"Lexi said that she and Kol had tried getting pregnant once before. When they found out, they were over the moon," said Caroline, repeating what she had been told. "Sadly, she suffered a miscarriage. It devastated them and Lexi felt like she was a failure because she wanted so much to give Kol a baby."

"So this is their second try?"

"Yes," said Caroline. "Lexi said her doctor knows about the miscarriage and will monitoring her pregnancy closely to be on the safe side." She smiled sadly at Liam. "It kind of scared me when I learned about it, because I don't know what I would've done if we lost Liam for whatever reason."

"You don't have to be afraid of that," said Klaus. "If that ever happened, you know I wouldn't think less of you."

"Lexi said Kol didn't think less of her either," said Caroline. "Still, a miscarriage is a horrible thing a woman could go through. I just hope this pregnancy goes smoothly, for Lexi's sake. She's lost so much in her life already. Both her parents are dead and so is her grandmother. Of course, losing them was nothing compared to losing her first child."

Klaus said nothing to that, just nodded. He hated the fact his brother's wife had another tragedy after already expressing three.

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