Chapter 5

As soon as Klaus had set foot into their family home, Rebekah knew he was not in a good mood. He looked rather murderous and, because of that reason alone, she didn't dare block his way.

He headed straight for their library which was more or less Elijah's sanctuary. She decided to stay out of the matter, for at least now. But that didn't stop her from eavesdropping on her brothers' conversation. She pressed herself against the door so she could hear, more or less, every word that Klaus was yelling at Elijah.

"I did everything Elijah!" his aggravated voice came through the door. "Everything!" he added, forcefully.

Rebekah squinted and pressed her ear closer to the door. She could tell that much from her brother's voice and tone that he was pissed beyond belief. If only she could look inside for herself.

"What are you doing, Bekah?" a chirpy voice from behind her made her jump. She turned around and glared her younger brother who was standing behind her with his arms crossed over his chest.

She rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. "Bloody dimwit. You almost gave me a heart attack" Rebekah sneered dramatically.

"No need to be violent, baby sister" Kol mused out loud.

Rebekah hushed him and narrowed her eyes at him. "Keep it down, will you? I'm trying to listen" she warned him before going back to pressing her ear towards the door.

Kol shook his head and pasted a cheeky smile on his face. "Or you could simply ask your devilishly handsome brother who already knows" he suggested, shrugging when she whipped around to look at him.

"You know why Nik's upset?" she asked dubiously.

Kol rolled his eyes. "You mean why Nik's got his knickers in a twist, yes" he answered sarcastically before he got pulled away when she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the hallway.

"What happened and how do you know?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. "I want to know everything" she demanded with a pout.

"What happened is that our lovesick brother finally gathered his wits and guts and proposed to our lovely Carebear" he had only said that much when Rebekah started squealing in excitement and clapped her hands.

"That's great news!" Rebekah gushed excitedly. "I am so happy for them" she said with a bright smile.

"Hold on, Bekah. You didn't let me complete" he said, holding up his hand. "I didn't say she said yes" he told her with a smirk on his face.

Rebekah mouth dropped open at that news. "What?" she gaped out. "How can she not say yes? What… How can she say no? Has she not seen Nik and who does she think is going to be a better match for her?" she seethed at the idea of Caroline saying no. Did the girl not see how much her brother cared for her?

"What's more is that she rejected him in person when he went to visit her today and she even moved out of the apartment by telling Katherine to pick up her stuff" he snickered, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Rebekah's mouth closed and she pursed her lips tightly. "This is all Katherine's doing. I'm sure of it" she hissed, clenching her fists.

"Or maybe unlike you all thought, she really loved her husband and not Niklaus" he countered, looking at Rebekah innocently when she glared him.

"Shut up, Kol" she growled, angrily before pushing him away and pacing around. "I can't believe she did that" she said, incredulously shaking her head. "I mean who does she think she is to reject Nik like that? Who does she think is going to marry her and does she honestly think she's going to get someone better than our brother?" she scoffed when Kol opened his mouth to answer and held up her hand for him.

"Maybe…" he tried to intervene but Rebekah cut him off.

"Just don't Kol" she snapped at him.

"O-kay" he drawled awkwardly before moving away. "If I were you, I'd stay out of it" he advised her, cautiously. "For now, at least" he added mischievously before walking away leaving a furious Rebekah in his wake.

Caroline huffed and bit her lip as she regarded her apartment with a critical look. As far as she could judge, she had pretty much cleansed her apartment of all the lingering memories.

"So now that this is all done, do you want to head out for lunch?" Katherine asked coming up behind her friend. "I'm sure Bonnie and Elena have already filled my phone with messages and voicemails for you" she said, rolling her eyes.

Caroline faked a smile before turning to her best friend. "I'm sure they have" she chuckled a little. "But you should go ahead. I think I'm going to stay in today" she said with a little shrug. The truth was that ever since yesterday she didn't feel like talking to anyone or facing anyone.

She still wasn't ready, especially not, after what she had done to Klaus today. She didn't have the strength to face anyone after that. She couldn't get the image of his face out of her mind even if she tried to.

"You know what you did today was probably a good decision for you" Katherine said softly pulling her out of her thoughts. "He needed to know that he can't control and manipulate you as he feels"

Caroline softly nodded with Katherine's words but her insides were screaming at her. After everything, she still refused to believe that Klaus would ever manipulate her or lie to her. Yes, he could be controlling and domineering.

But not manipulative. Not with her, at least.

"Yeah… Besides, I'm not even the right person for him" Caroline said suddenly, trying to make herself feel better. "He was probably saying those things out of pity" she knew that the chances of that were much higher than him being in love with her.

Sure, he loved her like she loved him.

But it wasn't marriage material love.

It was just… friendship love.

"You don't need a man to make your life better, Care" Katherine voiced her opinion openly. "You're strong. Stronger than people give you credit for" she complimented, truthfully. "Just know that every step you take I'll be by your side"

Caroline smiled halfheartedly at the reassurance and hugged her friend. "Have fun and tell the girls that we'll meet up later" she said as she waved her friend goodbye.

Just as she closed the door to her apartment and headed towards the kitchen, she couldn't help but let her mind drift to her conversation which Klaus this morning.

Caroline nervously fidgeted as she waited for Klaus to come inside. She had ignored his calls all morning and then texted, him, later saying that he needed to come over to her parents' house.

Of course, Klaus being his usual caring self had come over not twenty minutes later with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Her favorite flowers.

He greeted her with his usual smirk and a kiss on the cheek which she tried not to flinch from. She knew what her parents were doing and she knew that they were most probably pressurizing Klaus into marrying her.

But she didn't want that for him. She didn't want him to feel obligated to marry her.

"Ready to go home, love?" Klaus asked, almost cheerfully.

Caroline didn't dare look him in the eye as she said the next words. "I'm not going back with you" she said, quietly.

Klaus' eyes widened at her dismissal and he looked more angry than shocked. "Why?" he ground out, trying to reign in his temper. But if his clenched fists were any indication, he was severely pissed.

"I just can't" she said, trying not to fidget nervously under his gaze. "Look, I know we talked yesterday but I wanted to be clear about everything and the best way to do that is to talk about it in person" she explained waving her hands. "Face to face" she added for further clarification.

His expression softened at that. "Yes there is much that is left to be discussed about the wedding and- he started but stopped when she cut him off.

"There's not going to be a wedding Nik because I'm not going to marry you" she declared firmly, looking ahead, holding her head high. She wasn't going to back down. Not now.

It was for his own betterment, after all.

"What" he choked out and Caroline could almost sense the anger radiating off of him.

"We're not getting married Klaus" she said sterner, using his common name which irked him further.

"Oh?" Klaus said trying to remain unaffected while he was seething on the inside. "And you came to that conclusion all by yourself?" he probed sarcastically raising a mocking eyebrow at her as he sat back in his chair and relaxed.

Caroline frowned at that and looked up at him to find his cold, calculating eyes trying to pierce holes through her soul. She gulped under his icy gaze and inhaled deeply.

"Well, I think it's high time for me to take a hold of my life and make my own decisions" she stated, self assured that she was doing the right thing.

Klaus narrowed his eyes at that and leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees as he leaned towards her. "And your decision is to not marry me?" he questioned, taking hold of an escaped blonde tendril of hers and curling it around his finger to tug her closer. "To abandon me, to disregard me" he exaggerated, tugging her hair so that his breath fanned over her face and she could look him in the eye.

Caroline's eyes widened at that and rushed to explain, herself. "I'm not abandoning you… Or disregarding- she started but Klaus cut her off by grabbing her face with both his hands and pulling her closer to him.

"Yes you are. You are disregarding everyone and anyone who cares about you" he snarled at her, shaking her so that her only focus was on him. He glared at her as she started up at him wide-eyed and flushed. "I never thought I'd see the day when you would become this selfish Caroline" he said before pushing her back on the couch and moving away from her with a look of disgust on his face.

Caroline staggered and took a minute or two to compose, herself, as she stood up on wobbly legs.

"Wh… What?" she gaped out in shock. "I'm selfish?" she shook her head, as if to clear her mind. Klaus was the one who constantly told her how beautiful, selfless and full of light she was and it hurt that now he was the one who thought she was being selfish.

"What else would you call this behavior of yours?" he hissed at her, turning away from her to pace the area. "You have no care for your parents' concern for you. Do you have any idea how worried they are for you?" he asked angrily. A part of him felt bad for cowering behind her parents but then again, he knew how to get what he wanted. And he wasn't exactly lying. Her parents did have some concern for her. "Your friends, your family, Caroline. Everyone is so worried for you. All they want for you is to choose good for yourself for once and you can't even give them that" he said, with a hollow chuckle, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Don't bring my family into this!" Caroline bristled. "I've never done anything that my parents haven't approved" she denied, pointing her finger at him.

Klaus chuckled mercilessly and his laugh only made her feel more cautious. He leaned in closer towards her and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "Have you forgotten your first marriage, love?" he asked mockingly. "That action itself was the biggest disrespect and disobedience. Shall I spell out your other mistake while the topic is open?" he asked cunningly. "He went around by the name of Enzo" he mocked, cruelly.

Caroline's jaw clenched and tears streamed down her cheeks at the mention of her late husband. Her hand flew out before she could control herself. He easily caught her wrist in his hand and squeezed it for a minute before bringing it to his lips and dropping a kiss on the inside of her wrist.

"How dare you?" Caroline seethed. "I love Enzo" she claimed, hurtfully.

With that Klaus pulled her closer and turned her around so that her back pressed into his chest. "No sweetheart. You loved Enzo and he's dead now. You had your chance at happiness and you took it regardless of the effect it would have on those around you" he said and momentarily thought back to the dark days of his life when Caroline had been newly married and had left for her honeymoon with her new husband. "Now it's time for you to give back some happiness and peace to your family" he suggested before pushing her out of his arms.

Caroline staggered to the couch but caught herself before falling down.

"I believe I've pointed out more than enough for you today. Perhaps, you should take some time to think about others rather than yourself this time" he said coolly and before the sight of a crying, confused Caroline could deter him, he turned his back to her again.

"You're horrible and you didn't deserve Enzo's friendship or his loyalty" Caroline sneered at him as tears leaked from her eyes. "For once I'm glad he's dead because seeing you like this he would've been so hurt" she added and her every word felt worse than a physical blow to him. "I want you to get out of my house, my life and never come back again!" she yelled at him as she fell back onto the couch, bawling her eyes out.

Caroline shook her head as the words kept coming back to her. She had said far too much to him, she knew. But there was nothing she could do to take it back.

Besides he had said worse things to her. Maybe he deserved to know that she wasn't his doormat.

Snapping herself out of those thoughts, she set to the task of sorting out her house. Her own apartment which she would have to run alone now. The thought got her sad for a second before she covered it up with a smile.

She could do it.

Klaus kept staring into his glass and downed the amber liquid after swirling it around for a minute. As soon as the burning sensation in his throat had died down, he growled and hauled the glass towards the fireplace where it crackled in the roaring fire.

If there was one thing in his life that he truly hated, it was being out of control.

And for the past couple of weeks, his life had been completely out of control. Out of his control.

How could it be that within the span of a few hours, Caroline Forbes could make his day from heaven to hell?

She wasn't supposed to have that power over him. No one was supposed to have that much power over him.

Even though, he had been assured by Elijah that he would take care of the situation, he still didn't want only reassurances. He wanted results and quick ones for that matter.

He had waited long enough for Caroline and now he was tired of waiting. He knew that he could corner her and pressurize her into marrying him but the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth and he found himself unable to do such a thing.

She was, after all, still his best friend and he could –would- never do something like that to her.

So taking Elijah's advice, he for once trusted his elder brother and vowed to stay away from Caroline till Elijah handled everything.

Hopefully, he would be able to keep his word.

Klaus groaned and mumbled incoherently under his breath as he heard his phone blasting off his ear. Normally he would've ignored the call had it not been for the specific ringtone assigned to that specific person.

"I swear, sweetheart, you are the only person who can call me now and still be alive the next morning" he grumbled as he held the phone to his ear and rubbed his eyes. "Is everything alright?" he asked, shaking his head to clear off the sleep.

He heard her huffing on the other side before she spoke up. "Can you talk to me for a little while, Nik?" she asked in a little, sad voice which had Klaus frowning and sitting up straight.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, worriedly.

"My parents are fighting again and I just don't want to hear them" she explained, sadly and he could practically imagine her curled up in her bed, trying to block out their noises. "Can you- she huffed loudly this time. "Just open your window. I'm standing down" she said and Klaus had to stop from tripping from his quilt when he rushed out of his bed towards the balcony doors.

As promised, Caroline stood there, clutching the phone to her head and shivering in his grey hoodie. He quickly opened the door and threw down the rope ladder for her, which he only had because of her, and helped her up.

Once she was up, he placed her at arm's length and inspected her for a few moments before bringing her into his side. "It's bloody freezing outside. How long have you been standing here?" he asked, perplexed as he led her inside.

Caroline shrugged. "Fifteen minutes" she said, shivering slightly. "I'm sorry for coming here so late but they were so loud and I tried to- she started nervously but Klaus shushed her before folding her into his arms and embracing her.

She hugged him back before he pulled back and gave her a small indulgent smile.

"You never have to apologize to me for coming to me, Caroline" Klaus said, gently tipping her head upwards so he could see the sincerity in his eyes. "Never" he repeated, firmly.

Caroline got comfortable in bed while Klaus went downstairs to fetch a mug of hot chocolate for her. When he came back, he saw her settled into his bed at one side, leaving enough space for him at the other end. Now that he could see, she was still in her pajamas with her grey hoodie placed on his chair.

He gulped and controlled his impulse to snatch the quilt away from her to see how much her night suit actually covered because judging from the singlet top, he was sure it wasn't much.

He calmly placed the mug at her bedside before sliding into bed next to her. He gently brushed his hand against her shoulder, pulling her into his chest. Once she relaxed next to him, he slowly started running his fingertips up and down her arm in a relaxing manner.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, quietly.

"No" Caroline mumbled silently, pressing herself further into his chest. "Can I just stay here for the night?" she questioned, even though she didn't really need to.

He nodded in return, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, letting her snuggle into his chest.

"Of course. Anything for you, love" he said adoringly looking at her as he pulled the quilt over their bodies, tucking them both in nicely. The whole night Klaus kept watching her as she slept and his hand never once stopped stroking her hair.

It was somewhere around dawn that he fell asleep and by the time when he woke up; Caroline was gone without so much as a goodbye note.

Later that day, he saw her in the Grille sitting next to Enzo, smiling and talking to him animatedly. It made him insanely mad that she'd left him for Enzo. So in his rage, he did the next thing that made sense.

He acted as the asshole that they treated him as. Hell, he even hooked up with Hayley in front of them who he knew Caroline absolutely hated after the girl had tried to push Caroline before some cheerleading competition.

Anything really to make her feel the hurt he'd felt when she so easily ignored him and went to Enzo.

Liz sighed loudly as she walked into her husband's study to find him hunched over a bunch of papers with a glass of whiskey in his hand. It was barely evening time and he was already drunk.

When he heard the door open, he looked up to see Liz walking in and then focused his gaze back on the envelope in his hand and took a full swig of the drink in his hand. "Fill it up for me, will you?" he asked, holding his glass out towards her.

Once she complied and got the glass back to him, he pushed the folder towards her. "Caroline lost her job and the rent for her apartment hasn't been paid for the last four months" he told her, pressing his lips into a grim line.

Liz shook her head at that. "How much is the rent?" she asked, carefully.

Knowing where this argument was headed, Bill shook his head and gave his wife a stern look. "Doesn't matter how much because we're not paying it for her" he announced harshly. "Neither are we going to get her, her job back" he said, taking the folder from her hand and placing it inside the drawer of his desk.

"She's our daughter, Bill!" Liz said, affronted, as she stood up in rage.

"Yes and as her father, I know what I'm doing" he said back, aggravated at his wife's constant nagging. "She's not going to come back to Klaus if she keeps getting everything handed out to her. She needs to value the life we have given her and the life Klaus can give her" he said and at that moment, Liz wanted to slap him for his harsh yet true words.

"I know it's hard but it's for her own good" he said a little more tenderly, placing his hand on top of hers. "Let's hope she accepts this sooner rather than later" he said with a loud sigh.

Caroline knew she should probably be packing up right now instead of pacing around but she couldn't help it. She was jobless and soon-to-be homeless.

She couldn't believe she had forgotten to pay the rent but then again, Enzo always took care of that and she rarely ever had to worry about it.

She knew the landlord was a kind, old man who would probably give her some time to pay the rent but even with that time, she couldn't collect that sort of money. Not without a job. Not without spending all of her savings, which were already running away like water.

She debated calling her parents but then again, they'd only have nasty comments about Enzo and his inability to keep his house afloat and she couldn't bear to hear a word about him.

So her next thought flew to Klaus… But that seemed like a bad idea. Besides, she wasn't going to draw him into her mess.

Doing the next rational thing she called Katherine.

Surprisingly the phone was picked up on the second bell. "Carolineee!" came her friend's high pitched, excited voice.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Kat, are you okay?" she asked, trying to conceal the worry in her voice.

"I am wonderful. Thanks for asking" the brunette replied smugly. "But I have news, if you must know" she goaded happily.

Caroline waited for her friend to spill before she ranted on her own problems and spoiled the mood. "Well…?" she prompted, impatiently.

"Elijah asked me to move in with him!" she exclaimed excitedly and Caroline could imagine her friend practically bouncing with happiness. "He said he would come by later this evening to help me pack" she told her friend.

"Oh my God! That's great Kat. I'm so happy for you" Caroline said with a smile on her face, trying to ignore the tears in her eyes and the small envious feeling in her heart. All her friends were getting their perfect lifelong dreams fulfilled while she was sinking deep and deeper into abyss.

"What's wrong, Care?" Katherine said her voice suddenly serious. "You have your fake happy voice" she explained, straightforwardly.

"No. No, it's nothing. I'm just really happy for you" the blonde said, shaking her head to clear any unwanted thoughts. She could deal with the tensions of her life later but right now she needed to be happy for her friend. "Congratulations Kat. You and Elijah deserve this" she said, letting a genuine smile come on her face.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Katherine asked dubiously.

Caroline shook her head as a laugh left her. "Of course I am, mum" she said, sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Kat, stop worrying about me. I'm okay" she lied, reassuringly.

"Well, we're going out to celebrate tonight and I'm hearing no excuses, young lady" Katherine announced sternly, before her best friend could make up any lame excuse just to avoid the world for a few more days. "No buts, Carebear. I'll pick you up at seven so don't you dare be late or moppy" she said and before Caroline could object the line went dead.

Sighing, Caroline placed the phone back down and grabbed her head in her hands.

With Katherine's apartment not available, what other option did she have?

True to her word, Katherine came barging into Caroline's house at seven along with Elena and Bonnie who seemed sheepish to make eye contact with her.

"Hey Care" Elena said, shyly with a small wave.

Not wanting to keep up the rift between them, Caroline gave her a small smile and walked over to hug her. "Hi" she said and felt her friend's arms tighten around her.

"I'm so sorry fo- Elena started but Caroline cut her off.

"Look guys it's … Let's just not talk about it. I don't want that incident to get between our friendship. Okay?" she asked with a bright smile that Bonnie and Elena reciprocated and hugged Caroline once again.

"As lovely as this little reunion is, we need to get going" Katherine interrupted, sardonically, before her eyes narrowed on Caroline. "We're going to a club Caroline. Not church. You need to change" she asserted looking at Bonnie and Elena for back up.

"She looks fine" Elena lied, lamely, not wanting to upset her friend.

Bonnie, however, gave Caroline a sheepish smile. "Not one to burst your bubble but you could use with a bit more color, Care" she said before pulling out a shopping bag from behind her. "And we just have the perfect dress for you" she exclaimed excitedly before handing the bag to Caroline.

"Guys, it's really nice of you but isn't this a bit too much?" Caroline asked, unsurely, looking at the sparkly dress in her hands. Normally she wouldn't have had a second thought about wearing it but now circumstances were different. Things had changed.

"Come on Care. We bought it especially for you and it'll look great on you" Bonnie said, pleadingly.

Katherine gave her friend a look before Caroline relented and changed into the dress. Ten minutes later, they were on their way when Caroline realized something.

"Wait. Is Rebekah not coming?" she asked curiously.

Her friends started averting their gaze except for Katherine whose eyes hardened at the mention of the other girl and she squeezed her best friend's hand.

"She wasn't exactly in the party mood" Katherine answered vaguely before directing the driver where to take them.

It took Caroline a few moments before she realized the exact reason. "She's not coming because of me, right?" she declared and by the looks on the girls' faces, it was true. Because she rejected Klaus, now Rebekah wanted nothing to do with her.

"She'll come around" Elena said, reassuringly. "You know she just loves Klaus a lot"

In that moment, Caroline knew that maybe rejecting Klaus' proposal wasn't her brightest decision so far. That led her to the current predicament as she drank her way through the club's liquor supply. Tonight she was not going to hold back.

Klaus tried to repress his smirk as she watched his sister flip through magazines and then simultaneously complain about the some show running on the television.

"Don't laugh, Nik" Rebekah warned him, without looking up.

Klaus raised his hands in surrender and focused on the sketch book in his lap. "I said nothing" he justified.

"Can you believe that they would choose her over me? And furthermore, Elijah's inviting that hoe to live with us. HERE!? In our home!" Rebekah rambled on in frustration.

Klaus frowned and sat up straight at the mention of someone moving into their family home. Of course, he didn't live here but still he needed to know what happened here. "Go back, Rebekah. Who chose who over you and who's moving into our house, love?" he asked, confused and curious all the same.

"Katherine. Elijah asked her to move in" Rebekah explained, frustrated. "And she chose Caroline over me. I mean-

Klaus cut her off easily at the mention of Caroline. "What about Caroline?" he asked immediately.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Why do I even bother?" she muttered under her breath. "The girls were all going out and when they invited me, I said I'd only go if Caroline wasn't invited and then she said, fine have a great night at home then" the blonde imitated with a disgusting expression on her face. "At least I won't be having a blooding hangover in the morning" she murmured in annoyance.

Klaus' head snapped at that. "Where are they gone?" he asked.

"Clubbing, Nik" she said, stating the obvious.

"I don't have time for your games Rebekah. Where. Did. They. Go?" he growled furiously.

Rebekah watched as her brother all but ran upstairs after she told him the exact location of the girls. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

Her whipped brothers.

At least, Kol was a free spirit.

Elijah pinched the bridge of his nose, tiredly. "Whatever I did, Niklaus, it is for your betterment" he explained for the hundredth time as his brother bombarded him with questions about why he had asked Katherine to move in. "I promised you that I would help you get Caroline and I intend to do so but please stop worrying" he implored as he kept his gaze on a report in front of him in his study.

"I don't know what you're doing Elijah but, I'm trusting you and, I hope you know what that means" Klaus said, barely restraining his frustration as he left the room.

Running a hand over his face, Elijah dropped the report on his desk and loosened his tie. He had known Caroline since they were just children and doing what he was doing to her, seemed so wrong to him but then again, seeing his brother in agony left him more helpless.

In his heart, though, he knew he would never forgive himself for causing such misery to Caroline in her time of need.

He got her fired. He was about to get her evicted and he had only asked Katherine to move in with him so quickly because he knew that his girlfriend would easily move Caroline into her own apartment, if the situation ever rose.

He felt guilty and knew it was wrong yet he also knew it was necessary.

"Maybe you should slow down, Care" Elena voiced her concern as she watched her friend order another round of shots.

Caroline giggled, intoxicated, before draping her arm across her friend's shoulder. "Loosen up, Elena" she slurred in her words. "My husband died, I rejected my best friend so he hates me and so does his family and mine, apparently and I'm officially going through the worst time of my life" she stated with a humorless laugh.

Katherine gave Elena a warning glance before pushing, another, tequila shot towards her friend. "Which is we're all going to take another shot" she announced and before all of them, Caroline had her shot downed. "I need to touch up, Bon will you come with me?" Kat asked giving her friend a subtle look.

"Yeah" Bonnie said, standing up and nodding at Elena to stay with Caroline.

Once the girls were gone, Caroline continued slurring out an occasional fact or something. "Wanna know a secret, 'Lena?" Caroline asked, giggling. "I'm going to be homeless in a couple of weeks!" she exclaimed laughing without waiting for her friend's reply.

Elena's eyes widened at that. "Car- before she could complete her sentence, though, she saw a male hand reach out and snatch the shot glass out of Caroline's hand. She turned to look at Klaus looming over them with dark eyes.

"I think you've had enough for today, love" he stated firmly.

Caroline squinted her eyes at him and cocked her head at one side as if trying to figure him out. "Kol?" she guessed before shaking her head. "Nik?" she asked, adjusting to the lighting and smiling at him. "Join us Nik. It's sooo fun" she murmured incoherently.

Klaus gave a look to Elena before shaking his head. "That's it. Up you go. I'm taking you home" he declared and helped her stand up. Once she was standing, Klaus picked her up in his arms and Caroline immediately wrapped her arms around his neck while letting out a chuckle.

"The world is spinning!" she exclaimed, wiggling her legs a little.

Klaus sighed before looking towards the sky, as if in prayer. God help him.