A/N: I am blown away with the huge response this fanfic got after only once chapter! I love you all so much! I really hope I don't let you down with this story!

Enjoy!

.

His building had a doorman. A freaking doorman! With the red jacket, the hat and the gloves! Everything! As if the entrance hall wasn't impressive enough with its high ceilings and fancy paintings. Caroline wrapped her arms around her as she felt uncomfortable, like she didn't belong there. Klaus didn't seem to notice as he walked her to the elevator that would take them to -you guessed it- his penthouse.

Once there, Klaus took his coat off and hung it by the door.

"You must be hungry. I'll order something."

"You don't have to do that." Caroline said quickly.

"So you're not hungry?" He asked confused.

Caroline could feel her stomach twisting and she made a face.

"I am, I'm just saying you don't have to order in. I'll have whatever you have here."

Klaus made a face and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm not sure I have anything in the kitchen, except perhaps coffee. I usually don't eat here, and when I do is take out." He explained uncomfortable. He never had a problem with his wealthy life, but that didn't mean he wanted to rub it on her face.

Caroline picked up on this and shook her head.

"Forget about the food. Can I use your shower?" She asked while readjusting her backpack on her shoulder.

"Of course. Do you need anything else?"

Caroline chewed her lower lip.

"Maybe I could use your washing machine? If you have spare clothes I can borrow then I could wash everything at once."

Klaus nodded his head and she watched him disappear into a hall. He came back with shorts, a shirt and a couple of towels.

"Thank you." Caroline said softly while taking them.

"No problem. The bathroom is that way." Klaus said while pointing down the hall and to the left. "And the guest room is the one in front of it. The bed is already made."

Of course it was! He probably had a housekeeper, or at least that's what it looked like to Caroline.

She made her way to the bathroom and once inside she looked around. It was bigger than a room she once shared with other two girls at a women's shelter. How did this guy managed to afford it? He didn't look older than 30!

She made sure to lock the door before starting to get undressed -Hello! She'd seen Psycho and she wasn't about to get murdered by Norman Bates! Because you never know when the person helping you can turn into a serial killer-. She then let the hot water run in the shower and once it was warm enough she stepped inside.

The feeling of warm water running down her back was so comforting she thought she would fall asleep right there. It had been too long since she had such a nice shower.

.

Klaus stood by the window sipping a glass of Bourbon. He knew he he drank more than enough that night and that it was time to start sobering up, but he was still pretty shaken up. Someone pointed a gun at him that night and he made it out without a single scratch. That kind of thing gets you into thinking. His didn't see his life flashing before his eyes, but he did think of Rebekah and Elijah, the only two people that truly cared about him.

How sad is that? He couldn't help but wonder who would go to his funeral –and really mean it- The number he came up with was discouraging. The eulogy would praise his achievements as being a huge businessman at such young age, but there would be no kinds words to describe him, and if there were, they're would be lies.

It was in moments like this when he itched to paint but…

It's been years since he last picked up a paintbrush.

Klaus shook his head as the doorbell rang. It was the delivery boy with the Italian food he ordered for Caroline. The girl saved his life, she deserved some lasagna…

As he closed the door and placed the food on the table he glanced to the clock on the wall and noticed Caroline had been in the shower for at least a half an hour. Truly, he couldn't blame her.

His cellphone rang and he sighed before checking the screen and picking up.

"Genevieve." He greeted.

"Hey handsome." The sensual voice said. "Care to join me for a glass of wine?"

"Not tonight, love." Klaus replied.

Glass of wine was code for casual sex. His relationship with Genevieve was hard to define, because it was hardly a relationship. He was a man with needs and she was tasty vixen with long legs, but Klaus Mikaelson does not do relationships, so they reached an agreement. They were each other's booty calls.

"Are you sure? I know tonight was your weekly dinner with your father and I thought you could blow some steam." Genevieve said. She didn't know the truth behind Klaus and Mikael's relationship, but she could always agree that it was those nights when Klaus ravished the most.

"I'm sure." Klaus replied dryly before hanging up. That's when he heard steps behind him. He turned to see Caroline walking back to the living room. She looked tiny inside his shirt and shorts. Not just because he was many sizes bigger than her, but because she was incredibly thin. He wondered how those skinny legs could hold her weight without breaking and it was then when he realized her situation was worse than he first thought.

"Best shower ever." Caroline said tiredly but with a smile. "Do you live with your wife or girlfriend? Because I found women's shampoo and soap, I hope they don't mind I used them."

Klaus tilted his head and found himself confused for a second.

"Oh! No, those are my sister's, Rebekah. She stays here every now and then." He explained, still not happy about his sister filling his bathroom with those flowery products. "I don't have a girlfriend." He suddenly added. And it wasn't a lie, Genevieve wasn't his girlfriend. But he didn't have to explain himself to her. Caroline nodded her head awkwardly and Klaus looked for something –less stupid- to say. "I ordered food." He said pointing at the bag on the table.

Caroline took at look at it and smiled widely.

"Thanks! Can I use the washing machine first?"

Klaus nodded and pointed the laundry room. He barely ever used it, either his housekeeper did or he took his clothes to a dry-cleaning, but Caroline seemed to make it work just fine after pouring every piece of clothing she had in her backpack. Meanwhile, Klaus put the lasagna in a plate and placed it on the table.

"You're not eating?" Caroline asked once she walked back into the living room.

"No." Klaus shook his head. "I already ate."

Caroline glanced at the glass with brownish liquid but decided not to comment on it. Instead she sat at the table and started eating. Klaus sat in front of her and watched her closely.

With the fork in the mid air, she locked eyes with him.

"What?" She asked.

"I'm just surprise you're eating so slowly. I imagined you would be starving."

Caroline blinked. This guy had no filter.

"I am starving." She confirmed. "But eating too fast or too much after not eating for days can be bad for the stomach. The last thing I need is to get sick." She explained while poking the lasagna with her fork.

"I had no idea." Klaus commented.

"Oh yeah, human's body is weird like that... It's called "refeeding syndrome" and it was discovered after WWI. Once the food aid arrived, people ate too much and died. It's ironic and sad." Caroline said before taking another bite. "It also happened during WWII."

Klaus narrowed his eyes.

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"I had History classes during college."

"College?" Klaus asked. Caroline tilted her head and put her fork down.

"I have a bachelor's degree broadcasting journalism." She replied simply.

Klaus blinked a few times.

"So you know self defense, survival tactics and you're also highly educated?" He frowned. "How did you end up living on the street?"

Caroline pursed her lips and looked down.

"That has nothing to do with my education. It's more about bad luck and loss."

"Tell me." Klaus said softly. Caroline took a deep breath and looked at him threw her lashes.

"My mom was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. Brain tumor. She was the only family I had left and we couldn't afford the medical bills, so when things got rough I sold all our things, including our house." Caroline looked down. She told the story slow and softly. "But then the doctor said that the treatment wasn't working and there was nothing let to do but keep her comfortable." She sighed. "I made sure she was, but once she was gone I had nothing left. I stayed with my boyfriend for a while but wherever I looked I saw her, the whole town knew her and everyone kept looking at me with pity. When my boyfriend and I broke up I had nowhere to go and it was a small town so I knew people would talk about the sheriff's daughter living on the street. I took the last few dollars I had, bought a bus ticket and never came back."

Klaus swallowed hardly. That was quite the story.

"What about your father?"

Caroline made a face.

"He left my mom for another man when I was 10. Never saw him again." She replied with a shrug. "It's fine though. Mom and I never needed him anyway."

She continued eating while Klaus rested his head on his palm and looked absently into space, her words slowly sinking in. She was smart and kind girl, and clearly she was a loving daughter, but like she said, she had bad luck. It also got him into thinking he didn't really appreciate his family enough. Did that mean he would call his mother and tell her how much he loved her? No, he was still mad at her for keeping her affair in secret for so many years and then for not defending him when Mikael took his anger out on him. But did that mean he would be okay if she died? Or any of his siblings died? No, it didn't mean that either. He was so deep in thought he didn't notice when Caroline got up. By the time he found her she was taking the clothes from the laundry machine and placing them into the dryer machine. He also noticed she washed and dried her plate.

Klaus went back into looking at the window and sipping his glass. It was starting to snow.

When he saw Caroline's reflection on the glass, he turned around and saw her walking towards the hall.

"Thank you for letting me stay here tonight." she said.

"Thank you for saving me from being shot." He replied. Caroline smiled and nodded her head.

"No problem... Thanks for the dinner too. I'm going to bed now. Good night."

Klaus didn't reply, he simply tipped his head and watched her walk to the guest room.

The covers were soft and fluffy, just like the pillow. The whole bed felt like a cloud when Caroline laid on it. She needed this, she needed a good night of sleep away from the cold.

But she knew she shouldn't get used to it.