Firstly, so sorry for the delay. It's been months but life has been, well, life. And other things have had to take a back bench. I'm off camping for 2 1/2 weeks so hoping to get some writing done then. That or sleeping! This is my longest chapter so far, I tried to break it but there wasn't somewhere to do that, sorry about that. Also, my word processor has stopped spell checking so let me know if there are obvious spelling and grammar mistakes! Anyway, enjoy :)

I do not own VD or any of it's characters.

Chapter six – Information overload

Her first sight was a huge bunch of tulips, yellow and red, stunning in their vibrancy, a light, sweet scent wafting towards her. The second was the azure and grey flecked eyes that met hers across the top of them as he handed them over.

"For you sweetheart" he said, voice sounding stronger than he felt right then.

She took them, flushing slightly as she lowered her lashes to inhale their scent, buying herself some time. He was overwhelming to be around, casually leaning against the wall while he watched her. His black top clung to his body and his lips were pressed into a half smile that threatened to broaden if she would just meet his eyes.

Meanwhile, Klaus felt anything but casual, instead he felt like running back the way he came. It was only the sight of Caroline holding him in place. He had seen her already today in that divine dress but again he marvelled at the legs that led up to a face he couldn't seem to get enough of. When she spoke, he was abruptly brought out of his thoughts.

"They're beautiful, thank you Klaus."

Turning she walked back into her office and he followed slowly behind her, taking in her figure. She made quite the picture walking away from him. Taking a jar from her desk, she emptied out the pens and pencils, filled it with water and arranged the flowers before turning to face him.

"So..."

"Yes, so..." he replied, attempting to make conversation. However the ability to do so seemed to have fled from him for the moment.

She gave him a small smile. "I'm still me Klaus, it's just, now you know I come with a few more secrets than most others you will meet."

"We all have secrets sweetheart, but yes, you will have to enlighten me before my head explodes."

"There's plenty of time, over dinner right?" she walked over to grab her jacket and bag.

"Yes dinner, we're actually not far from there. I know it's getting dark but we could walk? I'll keep you safe" he finished gallantly. Then he stalled, realising that Caroline was probably the last person who needed to worry about safety. He was definitley in more danger than she was.

Caroline could read what was flitting through Klaus' mind, his face was for the moment, an open book. "Walking would be wonderful" she replied, wondering if her heels could carry her that far.

She started to put her jacket on and Klaus walked over, holding it for her so she could ease in. Reaching up he pulled her hair gently out from where it had become trapped, his fingers brushing lightly against the nape of her neck. They paused as a zing electrified them both, Klaus' fingertips tingling and warm, Caroline feeling the trail of fire left behind. It had been a long time since she had reacted to anyone touching her like that. She missed the intimacy of a light touch, the feelings it invoked in her. Neither spoke though as she smoothed her hair down. There was just a moment when their eyes met and neither wanted to look away.

Clearing his throat and blinking as though shaking off being hypnotised, Klaus reached out and took her arm, linking it with his. "Shall we?"

"Lead on" she replied, swinging her bag onto her shoulder and falling into step beside him.

They strolled in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. Caroline was wondering how much to tell him about her vampire ways and whether he would take off running and not look back. Klaus was thinking that strolling with a vampire seemed quite normal really considering. He was also absorbed in the way the breeze ruffled her hair lightly, swirling it around her face and the perfume that drifted off her skin and inundated his senses.

She turned her head, catching him as he gazed at her and he spoke, stumbling on his words. "There was one more thing about tonight" Klaus said, cheeks going slightly red. "I ah, know I said I was taking you out to dinner but you mentioned bloodbags and I wasn't sure if you ate real food?"

Caroline gave a laugh. "This isn't Twilight Klaus, we can eat and enjoy food. We just need the blood otherwise we desicate."

"I beg your pardon?" Klaus answered, feeling like all the confidence he normally had was now fully stripped away.

"Ok, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. I mean, I can answer any questions you might have but I think if you want to last the evening without freaking out too much, I might keep the information to little bits at a time."

"Yes, good call on that" he replied. They had arrived in front of a small bistro. "We're here" he said, opening the door with a flourish. "Family friends own it, good food, good music, somewhere to sit and...talk" he finished.

Opening the door, he was immediately greeted by a friendly man who seemed to know Klaus, shook hands with Caroline introducing himself as Frank and led them to a table in a secluded spot at the back of the bistro. Holding the chair for her, Klaus tucked her in before sliding his long legs into the opposite chair. Leaving a menu in front of them both, Frank dissapeared leaving the two of them to sit. They both reached for the menus, smiling and burying their faces in them, browsing the selection.

Feeling conscious of the way his eyes would drift towards her and then slide away before they lingered too long, Caroline tucked her loose strands of hair behind her ears again, fidgeting.

Finally, when they had sat in silence for more minutes than she could bare, pretending to browse their menus, she closed hers with a bang and set it down, leaning forwards on the table.

"Look Klaus, you asked me out and I can accept that this was going to be on your terms while you sort all the freakiness out in your head. But in order to understand what is going on you have to talk to me. Ask questions, I'm an open book and I won't bite" she finished with a weak smile.

Klaus appreciated the humour in what she said and closed his menu too, setting it aside and mirroring her body language by leaning in towards her. "Ok love, fill me in. Why haven't you eaten me yet?"

There was playfulness in his voice but a hint of fear in his eyes as he spoke and Caroline swallowed, wishing the person she was didn't effect him this way.

"I don't eat people" she replied quietly, leaning in so their voices wouldn't carry. This could turn into a conversation that would freak out many of the other patrons and completely put them off their meals. "I do drink bloodbags which I acquire through certain channels but I'd much rather eat a steak than a person."

"And your teeth? They grow...when exactly?"

She sighed. "Just because I don't drink from people doesn't mean I don't want to. I choose bloodbags and even animals if I am desperate over unleashing the monster within. But always below the surface is a thirst for blood and the pumping of a heart or the scent of some particularly delicious blood is very hard to resist. My teeth appear before I am about to drink".

Klaus swallowed and was about to say something when a young, blonde waitress interrupted them, unwittingly allowing both of them the chance to breathe. "What'll you have?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and licking her lips obviously at Klaus' good looks. Caroline felt anger simmer, which was ridiculous as she had no claim on Klaus. But she did not like the way the waitress was looking at him.

"Why don't you order for us both honey?" she asked with a simpering smile in his direction and a glare aimed at the waitress.

His eyebrows shot up and he looked between Caroline and the waitress, a huge grin across his face. "Of course sugar" he answered, requesting the steak for them both and a wine to compliment.

As she walked away he couldn't help but smirk as he asked "honey?"

"Not as corny as lambekins or as squeemy as loverboy" she replied with a toss of her hair and a challenge in her eyes. Meanwhile, Klaus was having a hard time shaking the word lover out of his head especially as Caroline had never looked more stunning, eyes flashing and a flush to her cheeks.

"I'd love to draw you love, so passionate, so beautiful" he said softly.

The intensity with which he spoke, captured her attention, drawing Caroline to his eyes once more. "What was this connection?" she wondered. "Why have we only just met and I feel like this could be a very good thing?

Klaus was committing her features to memory, the curve of her shoulder, the shade of her skin. He had a feeling he would be working late into the night on a portrait of Caroline, not that it would do justice to her. But he could pour his emotions out on the canvas.

"So love, are you a great outdoors camping kind of lady or do you view the world through the windows of a hotel?"

"To be honest, I haven't been that many places. I grew up in Mystic Falls, that's where I became a vampire." She ignored the way Klaus flinched at the casual way she flung that word around and continued. "Then when it became a town with too many sad memories and when I should've been aging and didn't, I moved away, trained and stayed here to set up a practice. I do dream of visiting the Lourve or the Great Wall of China. The thing is, I don't need to rush to visit the world though since I'm going to be around forever." The last bit was said quietly, Caroline's voice trailing away into nothing.

Klaus noted the sadness in her voice and her eyes, she seemed lost in a memory of something and he let her quietly reminise about something he wasn't a part of, the life he couldn't picture her having. And he felt a little stab of jealousy that some other people had moments with Caroline that didn't include him. His immediate reaction was the thought of creating memories for the two of them. "Getting ahead of yourself a little mate!" he told himself as she shook herself free of her memories.

"Have you travelled Klaus?" she asked, fiddling with the napkin in front of her.

"Yes love, actually I've been to both the Lourve and the Great Wall and would love to go again. Maybe I can take you with me next time?" he said, earning himself a small smile in return. "I love art so the Lourve was amazing, I spent days wandering around, taking in the masterpieces. I aspire to have one of my own pieces there own day."

"What kind of artist are you?"

"I paint, charcoal, sketch, anything that goes on a canvas. I'm not your pretty picture artist though, no flowers and sunsets here" he finished, sounding somehow old and jaded.

Their eyes met and she wondered what he was hiding to make him seem that way. They seemed slightly sad but the depth of them made her blink a few times. She could fall and keep on falling into them but she had to keep her distance. Sure, he had kissed her but that was before the big V word came up. Now she couldn't really be sure if he wanted to repeat that or not although the memory of his lips gliding over hers were still very fresh in her mind.

Shaking her head free, she smiled at him, the eyes turning from grey to blue as he answered her smile with his own.

"So Caroline, I can't decide if I'm having dinner with a minor or someone a little closer to my age?" he asked with a grin.

Reaching over, she slapped his arm with a laugh. "I've lived 24 years, or rather I have been on earth 24 years, I've lived for 17 of those. I can see why that would be confusing. But what about me? I could say I am dating someone old enough to be my Dad, how old are you anyway?"

He frowned at her, not sure whether to be offended or not. "I'll have you know I am 27 years young sweetheart so unless I was a very virile 10 year old, I'm certainly not old enough to be your Father!"

She was laughing at him, enjoying the way he called her sweetheart mixed in with his British accent and his obvious annoyance. Her laughter lit up her eyes, causing Klaus to lose his frown and stare, entranced. This heavenly creature couldn't really be a big, bad vampire. She seemed too full of life and light.

Sensing the change in his demeanour, Caroline locked eyes with his and saw an intensity that wiped her mind of everything other than Klaus and the possibility that she would have the chance to kiss him again. Klaus meanwhile was thinking that talking was over-rated and he'd rather whisk Caroline away somewhere a lot more private. Leaning towards her, his eyes flicked over her lips and she licked them unconsciously, causing stirrings throughout Klaus' body.

The arrival of the blonde waitress bringing their meals, shook them out of their unspoken connection. She placed the food down in front of each of them, taking her time and leaning unnecessarily over Klaus' plate. "Let me know if you need anything else sugar" she aimed at Klaus before sauntering away to Caroline's sigh and Klaus' snicker.

"Don't forget to look for the phone number she probably hid somewhere in your meal" Caroline said sarcastically, reaching for her utensils.

"She doesn't hold a candle to you love" he replied, causing her heart to gallop and her breath to stall for a moment. "That man and his words" she thought to herself.

She was brought back to the moment by Klaus speaking. "So Caroline, are you going to fill me on your fascinating story? You have to know I have been thinking of nothing else all day."

As they dug into their food, she began. "Well, I was in a car crash a few years back. It was touch and go really for a while but then I quickly began to mend. Unbeknownst to me I had been fed vampire blood from Damon and when Katherine appeared and smothered me with a pillow, I died. But with vampire blood in your system, you wake up in transition. You either die without turning completely into a vampire or if you drink blood, you will become a vampire. I obviously drank the blood and transitioned."

Klaus was listening enthralled (and truthfully, a little appalled) as she devoured her meal and talked at the same time. It was a pleasure to see a lady enjoying good food and not pretending to love the taste of lettuce leaves.

"I have a friend, Stefan, who helped me through Vampire 101. He taught me that I could supress the urge to drink human blood and be satisfied. With being a vampire comes a few skills; strength, speed, heightened senses. Compulsion is when I can make you forget something or remember something differently to what really happened. With my lifestlye, it is necessary to use those skills from time to time. It's not a normal life that's for sure and can get kind of crazy, part of the reason I moved away from home and hopefully away from the craziness. I wasn't alone though, surprisingly there are more supernatual beings out there than just vampires." She stopped and grimaced apologetically as Klaus gave an involuntary shiver. "But they were always there for me, more so than my family ever was."

"So not close to your family love? Are you one of 8, have an annoying older brother whose friends you always wanted to date?"

"I wish! There's just me, totally only child here. I had two parents growing up but when I was a teenager I found out Dad had a boyfriend. So, he ended up moving away to live with Steven and it was mostly just Mom and I from then on. Not that I blame him, she's a workaholic sheriff in a small town, always needed by someone else at the expense of her family. We had a fairly distant realationship until after she found out I was a vampire. I took a while but we did grow closer after she eventually accepted me. So what about you, oldest, youngest or do you have middle child syndrome?"

He smirked at that. "Not sure about whether I have a syndrome but I have three brothers and a sister and yes, I am a middle child. They're all half siblings though, my Mother had an indescretion and I am the result. My step father never let me forget it and my siblings and I have our ups and downs. Not sure why I am telling you that though, you don't need to know all the grizzly truths of my past sweetheart."

"But I want to know it all Klaus" she replied, touching his hand with hers and letting her fingers brush against them before beginning to pull her hand away. Mid air, he caught her fingers, lacing his own with hers and trapping them under his on the table. She looked down at them, feeling the heaviness and warmth of his skin and felt her lips curl up into a huge smile. Shyly meeting his eyes, she saw his pupils grow large and a matching smile grow on his face. She could easily fall into his eyes but things didn't feel sorted yet, she didn't know what he was thinking.

"So, now that you know a little about my past and how this vampire thing began, do you want to forget it? I could make you forget all that we've talked about and I'd just always be the amazing chiropractor that fixed you after only a few visits." Even as she said the words she was hoping he wouldn't take that option.

He looked down to where their hands were still joined and shook his head. "I thought I was just going to come here to find out about this crazy thing you've told me and then walk away when it made my head explode. But you love, you're..." and he stopped, unable to look away from her, incapable of finishing his sentence.

She swallowed, afraid of what he couldn't say, old insecurities flaring up. She'd always been second to Elena and although she loved her friend, that could get old pretty quickly. And it had left her with the knowledge that she wasn't good enough. She looked away from his intensity, beginning to slide her hand out from under his so she could shut down her heart and walk away but he stopped her, gently clamping her hand between both of his and holding her still.

"No love, don't go. I was trying to find the right word to describe you but I couldn't settle on one, no single word does you justice. You are more than just gorgeous. Your soul is beautiful, it shines out through your eyes, your smile. I'm completely captivated by you and unless you do some kind of voodoo vampire thing on me, it's going to be difficult to let you walk away."

Caroline's eyes had grown big and her pulse had quickened at his words. Did he really mean it or was he an expert at telling women what they wanted to hear? Could she let herself begin to trust him? What was she even thinking, she had already told him her secret, she'd laid herself bare before him. That was a pretty big thing to trust him with already. But should she date a human at all? Her brain wouldn't stop ticking over.

"So love, it's your call?"

Her mouth had gone dry and she sucked in her bottom lip, chewing it as she looked at him, thinking of what to say in reply.

Klaus laughed and reached out his hands, touching her lips lightly with his thumb, leaving a searing fire behind. "Don't be doing that love, I'm rather fond of those and I need them in one piece for later."

"Later" she shot back, "that's a bit forward of you. Who says you will have access to them later?"

"Won't I?" he asked, the cocky arrogance from when he first walked into her office evident in his tone.

"Not now you won't, good grief, assuming I'm going to fall into bed with you on the first date!"

Klaus laughed at the passion coming out of her eyes and brought her hand up to his lips, kissing it gently. "I was only speaking of your lips love, not your body. That I can wait for, that is well worth the wait" he finished, running his eyes over her body appreciatively.

Caroline rolled her eyes in reply but couldn't help the corner of her lip twitching into a quick smile which Klaus didn't miss.

"Shall we finish our dinner love and then I can take you home?" he asked, drinking in her lovliness with his eyes.

She nodded her answer, reaching again for her fork, trying to shake off the spell he was casting over her. And she had been a part of the supernatural world for a while, she knew a spell could make or break a person. This was one she was willing to take a chance on. "You only live once right?" she thought.

Ok, I have to stop there but the night isn't over. There's a little more to come but Klaus is a gentleman just like the Vamp Klaus is under all that crazy so don't expect too much too soon!