Hello sweethearts! I've got a new chapter for you! This one is where one part of the story really starts to kick off, but remember, this is only part of the story. There are plenty of other components to come and look forward to. This chapter doesn't focus that much on their job, but the next chapter will have plenty of it. The next chapter starts to get into the nitty gritty of their new mission at work. But for now, enjoy chapter 3!

Chapter 3: Surprise

Caroline slowly came back to consciousness after her long sleep last night. Once her head had hit her pillow, she had fallen into a deep slumber and she was grateful for it considering the stress she had felt that day. She reached over to the other side of the bed expecting to find Klaus there but the only thing her hand could find was the mattress. No. Not even the mattress. The quilt. Caroline tried to ignore her alarm as it buzzed next to her in an attempt to get another ten minutes sleep but her eyes flew open and she sat bolt upright. Klaus' side of the bed was neatly made as if it hadn't been touched. He never made his side of the bed. Caroline immediately thought the worst and scrambled out of bed. She quickly made her way out of her bedroom and down the stairs, not even bothering to put her ugg boots on. When she reached the lounge room, she stopped in her tracks and held back a snort of laughter at the sight in front of her. There were DVD cases all over the coffee table in front of the couch that Klaus was sprawled across, snoring as he slept. The television was on, displaying the start menu of the second season of Supernatural.

"Oh my God." She said and burst into a fit of laughter, unable to hold it back anymore. Her loud laughter jolted him awake and he jumped. His shock only made Caroline laugh even harder that she got to the point where she had to sit down before she fell to the floor. He glared at her momentarily, not exactly able to stay angry with her for very long at all.

"Are you quite alright there laughing at my expense?"

"Oh I'm just great!" she laughed and wiped at her tears. She took a moment to get her laughter under control and regain the ability to breathe properly before looking back at her husband and gesturing to the television. "I'm just gonna take a wild guess here and say that you pulled an all-nighter to marathon Supernatural?"

Klaus sat up and leaned back against the couch, running his hands sleepily over his face. "I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. You never shut up about this show." He said and saw the unconvinced look she was giving him. "I was curious."

"Uh huh, sure."

"I'm serious. It was pure curiosity."

She gave him a knowing look and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her – a horrible habit that he was starting to develop because of her.

"So?" she said, waiting for him to elaborate. "What do you think of it so far?"

Klaus shrugged his shoulders. "It's alright." It's bloody hilarious! "I can see why you liked my Chevrolet when you first saw it." Damn, that '67 Chevvy Impala is gorgeous!

He liked the show more than he cared to admit but he wasn't going to let her know that any time soon. Besides, he didn't have time to sit down and watch television with the job he had anyway, especially Caroline. She was Lieutenant after all. Klaus didn't think he'd ever be able to get over the fact that his wife was in charge of him at work. Damn it…

Caroline got up from her seat and started towards the stairs. "We've got work in an hour and a half," she stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked back at him, "We're leaving the department at seven to go see the Clare's, remember?"

Klaus groaned as he stood up from the couch and rolled his shoulders back. "Fuck it. I don't want to go in today. Get Matt to take over for me today. I'm exhausted."

"Did you even get any sleep last night?"

"I got an hour."

"Well that's self-inflicted," she told him as she pointed an accusing finger at him, "Now go get ready. You being late makes me look bad too, so hurry up." And with that said, she headed upstairs, leaving Klaus to contemplate ways to keep himself from falling asleep at work today.

Luckily for Klaus, he had gotten ready in time and was early to work. Both Caroline and Klaus usually took separate cars, seeing as it was easier for their particular work field to have their own transport. He had made it ten minutes after Caroline – who was naturally the first one there and was twenty minutes early. Katherine was already there, and within another five minutes, Kol had arrived.

"Guys, I don't think I can properly function today." Kol said as he walked through the front door.

"That's nothing new." Katherine retorted, and it was times like this that Klaus actually liked having her around… sort of… maybe… not really… Okay, she was still an annoying bitch but she had her uses.

Kol ignored Katherine's remark and kept going. "I got hardly any sleep last night because I had this seriously weird dream and –"

"Clowns or midgets?" Klaus blurted out without thinking and internally groaned. Katherine raised a brow and Caroline snorted, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Did he… did he just quote Supernatural?" Katherine asked Caroline.

"Yes. Yes he did." Caroline confirmed as she burst into a fit of laughter for the second time that morning.

"Drop it, Katerina." Klaus growled and headed for the exit. "Don't we have an investigation to conduct?"

It took them ten minutes to get to the Clare's household from the department and soon enough, they were knocking on the front door. A few moments later, a man of about 40 years of age answered the door. They could see a woman hovering in the hallway behind him, a distraught look claiming her features.

"Can I help you?" the man said as he looked at the four of them.

"Good morning Mr Clare," Caroline said and took out her badge to show the devastated father. Klaus, Katherine and Kol followed suit and did the same. "I'm Lieutenant Caroline Mikaelson and this is my team, Sergeants Niklaus and Kol Mikaelson and Sergeant Katherine Pierce." She said and gestured to each of them in turn before looking back at the father. "We are from the Mystic Falls homicide department and have been assigned the search for your daughter, Davina. We were wondering if we could take a look at the place and ask you and your wife a couple of questions."

Mrs Clare took several steps forward at the sound of her daughter's name and stood next to her husband. She held a hand over her chest and clutched onto it with her other one. She gave them the smallest of nods before stepping outside.

"Of course." She said. "Anything that will help bring my baby girl back."

As Kol and Katherine conducted investigation inside the house, both Klaus and Caroline stood out in the front yard with the Clare's as they asked them questions about the night their daughter was kidnapped and about the days leading up to her disappearance. Caroline would have liked to have this conversation inside but the girl's parents wanted to be outside in the fresh air. Caroline wanted them to feel as comfortable as possible when talking about the horrible events of that night, so she quickly agreed to have the conversation on the front lawn. However, the fact that they were standing next to a bin with the most putrid stench she had ever smelt did not help her keep her focus at all.

Caroline stood there holding her breath as Davina's father, Robert, was answering one of Klaus' questions. The smell was so bad, it had gotten to the point where Caroline discreetly made Klaus ask all the questions just so she didn't have to breathe in the smell unnecessarily. Seriously? Couldn't they just have their conversation a few more metres away from the trash?

Caroline listened in to everything they were saying, trying her best to occupy her mind with scribbling down notes on the notepad she had in her hands to record important facts from the conversation. She was doing fine until she lost her train of thought and had to ask Robert to repeat something and breathed in the toxic stench. She coughed and choked temporarily and held her hand in front of her mouth, quickly apologising to the couple and asking for him to continue. She scribbled down the remainder of that particular note, all the while trying to keep her dry-reaching to a minimum. If it was someone else, she probably would have been laughing, but it wasn't funny when it was at your own expense.

Klaus raised a brow at her and she just gestured for him to ask the next question. He did so but turned back to look at her when she coughed again.

"Are you alright, love?" he asked and rubbed her back to try to stop the coughing.

She nodded and gestured for him to continue again, not trusting herself to speak. Holy shit, that fucking bin stinks!

Caroline held her breath and she was pretty sure she was starting to look pale from the concerned looks Davina's mother, Mary, was giving her. Caroline forced a smile onto her face and gave her a curt nod, all the while trying to compose herself. She occupied herself with her notes again, trying to distract herself and it actually started working until she forgot yet again and went to speak. She gagged and felt bile rise up in her throat and she clasped a hand over her mouth. Everyone's attention snapped to her and now she was the one being asked the questions.

"Lieutenant, are you alright?"

"Oh sweetie, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Are you sick, sweetheart?"

Klaus turned her to look at him as his gaze looked over her concerned. Caroline kept her hand over her mouth as she tried to speak.

"It's the bin. The smell is making me sick."

Mary looked at her sympathetically after giving her a brief once over. "Oh sweetie, if you wanted to speak somewhere else, you should have just said so. We can move if you like?"

Caroline shook her head and pointed over at the front door of the house. "I'll just go and see if I can find anything in the house that Kol and Katherine might have missed. I apologise Mr and Mrs Clare." She said apologetically.

They gave her a sympathetic smile, Klaus watching her with a concerned look on his face. As she went to head back to the house, Klaus grabbed hold of her arm and made her look at him. "Go wait in the car, love. Kol and Katerina know what they're doing. I'll finish up here. Just go sit down for a moment."

"I'll be fine, Klaus."

"I'm sorry to butt in," Mary interrupted and the two of them looked at her. She gestured between the two of them. "Are you two together?" she asked and quickly added. "You don't need to answer that. It's just that you two act like you're in a relationship."

They both nodded. "We've been married for a year." Klaus answered for Caroline, knowing that she was trying to breathe in as little air as possible. The bin really did reek.

Mary nodded her head slowly with some kind of smile on her face that Klaus couldn't quite understand. Klaus turned his attention back to Caroline. "Go sit in the car."

"Fine." She said and turned on her heels to head over to the car.

"Oh and sweetie?" Mary called after Caroline. Caroline turned back around to give Mary her full attention.

"Yes, Mrs Clare?"

"Maybe you should go see a doctor. If you're feeling sick, that's a good sign."

Caroline furrowed her brows in confusion. Why the Hell would being ill be a good sign? Was this woman crazy? Caroline sighed but decided to take her advice anyway. She quickly let Klaus know that she was going to leave and let the others know before climbing into the car. She called Alaric to notify him that she had fallen ill before tossing her phone onto the passenger's seat and drove off.

"But I told you. I feel sick." Caroline said to Doctor Fell with a duh expression. "I have a weak stomach sometimes and clearly my immune system has been acting up. I've got a stomach virus or something."

"Caroline, I don't think you need medication for this." Meredith said firmly.

"So I'm just supposed to wait until the virus has gone over?" she said incredulously. "I've got a job to work at. I've got the position of Lieutenant to fill!" she said, suddenly getting agitated by Meredith's constant hassling. "Just give me the medication!"

"You don't need it." She said firmly again before handing Caroline a cup. Meredith nodded her head towards the bathroom. "I'll give you proof that you're not sick."

Caroline hesitantly took the cup from her and raised a brow. "Okay, I am so not peeing in a cup."

"Do you want to prove to me that you need that medication or not?"

"I need it but I'm not peeing in a bloody cup!"

"Then pee on this." Meredith said as she reached into a drawer and put a slim box in Caroline's hand. Caroline's eyes widened when she saw what it was.

"You're joking, right? No. No. This wasn't planned. I didn't come here for this."

"Do you want to pee in the cup?"

Caroline grumbled irritably before getting up and heading over to the bathroom. "This is so not how I planned on spending my day. This is ridiculous." She muttered.

After a few minutes, she came out of the bathroom and slowly made her way back to her seat, shock written over her face. She sat down, stunned, her eyes wide as she held the stick out for Meredith to see.

"This can't be right. These things can be wrong." Caroline said and Meredith gave her shoulders a slight shrug.

"Only on the rare occasion are they wrong. It was either that or the cup which you so quickly dismissed. You can try again if you want, but I'm sure it will be the same result."

"Just give me the damn thing."

Meredith sighed before handing her another slim package. "Your mood swings are also solid proof, Caroline."

"No they're not." She snapped and stormed back into the bathroom.

Not even three minutes later, she was out again and was holding the stick out to Meredith again. Meredith smiled at her happily.

"Positive again. Congratulations, Caroline. You're pregnant with your first child."

The first thing that hit her was her sudden mood change. She went from irritated, to stunned, to grinning like an idiot. Then something else hit her.

Well shit. How am I going to tell Klaus?

"Oooooh my God." She said, the weight of the moment finally hitting her. She felt a mixture of everything. Happy, worried, excited, panicked, emotional, everything. Here we go already…

"How do you feel, Caroline?" Meredith asked and Caroline sat down in her chair again. Her gaze settled on Meredith's and she swallowed.

"Everything." She said simply. "I'm feeling everything." She smiled then started giggling. Her giggling then turned into complete laughter before she was finally reduced to sobbing and was covering herself in tears. Meredith handed her several tissues and Caroline wiped her face. "I'm happy but I'm scared, you know?" she said and Meredith nodded. "My God, you probably think I'm a fruit basket. You're probably thinking 'this bitch is crazy.'"

Meredith released a small laugh and handed her another tissue. "Not at all. This is completely normal, Caroline." She said and sat back in her chair. "I suggest though that you make an appointment for your first ultrasound for at least two weeks from now so you can see how far along you are. And I suggest you tell your husband the exciting news as soon as possible. I'm assuming you'd want to attend your first appointment together?"

"How do I tell him?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair. "We've never even discussed having kids yet. We've only been married for a year. It's so soon. Oh God, I have so much planning to do. I need to make a checklist when I get home, then I'll make a table with a time plan for when everything needs to be done by and I need to colour code the –"

"I suggest you just focus on telling your husband first, then make all the checklists you want." Meredith said and Caroline nodded.

"Okay. I won't beat around the bush. I'll just look him dead in the eyes and say 'Klaus, I'm pregnant.' Yeah, that will work. Okay. Yeah, I can do this." She took a deep breath. "I can do this."

Meredith gave her a warm smile. "You can and you will. This is an exciting time for you both now. Something big and wonderful is happening in your lives and you need to both enjoy it. Congratulations, Caroline."

Caroline returned Meredith's smile. Just then, she remembered Mary's words from earlier.

"If you're feeling sick, that's a good sign."

Damn it, Caroline thought. She knew! She knew and didn't tell me! Oh bloody Hell, Mary! Help a pregnant woman out!

Klaus came home to find Caroline pacing back and forth in the lounge room, running her fingers through her golden hair. She looked nervous. Hell, she looked like she was going to be sick again. Klaus dropped his keys onto the coffee table and made his way over to her. He rubbed her arms gently as he looked at her with concern etched into his handsome features.

"Are you alright, love?" he asked. "What did the doctor have to say? Was it a virus?"

"I thought it was a virus…" she started and trailed off. She looked as if she was trying to build up the courage to say something but couldn't quite get there yet.

"It's not a virus?" he asked and she shook her head. "What is it then?"

She swallowed and looked up at him. Her mood shifted and Klaus could see an excited sparkle in her eyes. He furrowed his brow. Surely she wasn't that happy about going to the doctor?

"Klaus, I…" she trailed off, not sure how to say it. Safe to say, he looked severely confused by this point and Caroline couldn't take holding it in anymore. "I'm pregnant, Klaus." She blurted out quickly so she wouldn't trail off again. "You're going to be a dad."

Klaus blinked a few times, trying to process what she had just said. Pregnant? Dad? What?

"Klaus? Klaus, are you okay?" he heard her ask and he shook himself out of his stupor. He was stunned into silence.

"I..." he started and shook his head to clear his head. "Yeah, I'm fine but… wow. Okay... Really?"

Caroline suddenly felt worried. His reaction concerned her. He wasn't excited like her. Okay, granted the fact that she had longer to come to terms with it than him and that she too was shocked when she found out, but she was expecting at least something.

"Do you think it's a good thing or a bad thing?" she asked, the concern evident in her voice.

He felt his heart break at the sound of her worried voice and he pulled her into his arms. He kissed the top of her head and buried his face in her curls.

"It's a good thing, sweetheart." He heard himself say. He didn't even stop to think about his answer, just telling her the first thing that escaped his lips. It was true though. It was a good thing. He was just stunned. "I'm just surprised, is all."

Then a thought dawned on him.

Mikael.

No. He was determined to be anything but like Mikael. He had told himself that for years. If he was ever going to be a father, he would be the exact opposite of what Mikael was. Mikael wasn't a father. He was a child abuser. He didn't know the responsibilities of a father. Okay, Klaus didn't know how to be a father either, but he was sure he would do better at it than Mikael did. He at least hoped so…

I'm going to be a father… Shit.

What did you think? Klaus' reaction was rather hard to write. I didn't want him to be against having a child but I didn't want him to be exited that he was OOC. I tried to find a balance in between. Hopefully it worked well enough.

Originally this was supposed to be two separate chapters, but I felt like making it as one decent sized chapter rather than two small ones.

I will say, I was having a good laugh while writing down Caroline's scene where she was gagging because of the trash bin. I thought it was funny, but I'm easily amused, so I guess my opinion on funny things don't exactly count.

Let me know what you thought!

Celeste xoxo