AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello! No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, the word count on this part is almost twice what I normally write. It just kind of came out this way. I can't guarantee that it will continue but we'll see.

Glad to see that everyone seemed to like the last part especially Kol being in it and Caroline being a badass. I had lots of people thanking me for having Kol in it but I must admit that he was already supposed to be in the part before 4x12 aired and we lost him. I'm sure all of you will agree that he just fit into that part.

As for Caroline rescuing herself, I've had a few people ask where she got the skills and if they had anything to do with the scars. Well I won't answer the second part of that but I will the first part. During her interview she mentioned that she could shoot and was trained in self defense due to her mother. I come from a family of cops and we were all raised like that, some of us just basic training and some of us like me took it to the next level. I firmly believe that Sheriff Forbes would do the same for Caroline, because in my mind the small amount of fighting skills she's shown on the show didn't just appear when she became a vampire.

To the guest who was having problems leaving feedback, on when you post under Guest, I get an email showing me the review but it doesn't show up for a couple of days on the story. So don't worry, I got it and I appreciate you working so hard to make sure I did! And I understand about having tons of forum accounts but is nice to have an account because you can follow or favorite stories and authors so you get emails when they are updated. But it's understandable if you don't want to.

I've picked up a few new readers after this last part and I want to say welcome. I love all of my readers and you guys are just great and keep me wanting to write so I don't disappoint.

Thanks to Becky aka a-little-blonde-distraction for betaing this.

Hope everyone survived the episode last night. I can give you ever detail of the Klaroline scenes but don't really know what happened on the island.

Okay, I'm rambling now. Here is the part:

Part 21

"Okay guys…and Lexi," Caroline added when the blonde girl frowned at being referred to as a 'guy'. "It's quiet time now, put the cards and games away."

Her decree was met with expected groans from the four kids in front of her. "The little kids have been down for over an hour and it's getting late. I'm not saying you have to sleep but you have to at least lie down until your parents get here."

"If we aren't going to sleep and we can't play with anything, what do we do?" Connor whined, obviously not happy that he was being force to to stop having fun.

"You can read. Or if you'd like I can read something to all of you?" She suggested. When that was met with less loathing she went and retrieved her tablet and quickly found a book that she thought they might like, it had been one of her favorites when she was about their age. If they liked the book, they'd be more likely to lie down. The day had been so busy that pretty soon she knew someone would be having a meltdown.

The day had been spent exploring the island and being tourists. They had started out the day on the Atlantis Submarine, exploring what Barbados had under the water. The submarine was designed for tourist with numerous portholes, each having its own seat. The water was clear and they had seen all kinds of wild life, sea turtles, string rays and more species of fish than Caroline could count. It was absolutely breathtaking. Afterwards they went on a land tour that took them all over the island showing them various hot spots before the day ended.

Tonight had been different though, it did not end with a big family dinner, instead the adults had left all six of the Mikaelson children in Caroline's care while they went out for the evening. It had been awhile since Caroline had to take care of so many children at once, especially ones that ranged so greatly in age as the Mikaelson clan, from ages three to ten. Daniel and Sarah, Sage and Finn's youngest child and only girl, were taken with Caroline having been around her a few times; but Connor and Noah were another story. They were not rude or mean, they were actually quite well behaved; it was just that Caroline knew she was going to have to do something to 'impress' them.

Thankfully, the resort they were staying in had family activities set up outside the main building so she had trekked them all down there. Once they got there, she had been very grateful that she had. The activities they offered at the main building were just like all of the activities they would typically have at summer camp, all rolled into a few hours. Besides beach volleyball, there were hula-hoop contests, sack races, scavenger hunts, not to mention face painting and balloon animals. It was enough to make your head spin; and if you didn't want to do any of that, or if you just wanted to take a break, they had a buffet filled with kid-approved foods, both healthy and not so much, next to a movie screen that continuously projected various movies.

Caroline looked at the schedule and saw that after Tangled ended The Avengers was on right after. So after they had engaged in pretty much every game there was and their faces were covered in unicorns, tigers, and other things, she corralled the kids to a group of lounge chairs right in front of the big screen. There they sat and watched the movie, stuffing themselves from plates full of food. She snagged a few coloring sheets for Daniel and Sarah to keep them occupied during the beginning of the movie while she talked to the boys about who their favorite superhero was. They were impressed about her knowledge of the world of heroes, and she silently thanked Jeremy, Stefan and even Tyler for all of the times she had heard them talking about the movie and movies that came before it.

By the time the movie was over, she had won over Sage and Finn's boys and she considered the night an overall success, though at times she had felt as if she was herding cats. She had taken them back to the condo Klaus was renting to wait until their parents returned. Sarah and Daniel were exhausted and fell asleep pretty quickly once she put them in the twins' beds while keeping the bigger kids busy playing card and video games. Now it was getting late and time for them to start calming down. Caroline took a seat in the middle of the large U-shaped couch, while the kids found spots around her or on the floor on top of blankets.

Caroline had just finished reading about Lucy's first trip through the wardrobe when she heard a knock at the front door. She gently lifted Lexi's head from her lap before rising to answer it. She was a little surprised since she'd figured that Klaus would have just let everyone in, but quickly brushed the thought aside as she opened the door. She was surprised when Sage, Katherine, Finn, and Elijah came through without Klaus.

"Well you haven't pulled your hair out, so I hope that means that they were good?" Sage asked.

"Yes, they were very well behaved." Caroline replied. "The little kids are back in the twins' bedroom."

"And that's a very diplomatic answer." Sage replied as she eyed her sons while their father went to retrieve their sister. Both of them looked back at their mother with a look of disbelief, as if they could not believe that she didn't trust that Caroline was being truthful. It's not as if they really got into trouble… Well any real trouble, they did have Mikaelson blood in them.

"No, seriously, they were very good! We had a fun night. We played games and won prizes, and pigged out on food." She assured the red head. "I was just reading to the older kids, Sarah and Daniel went down after we got back. They were exhausted; they played hard so they are a bit of a mess."

Finn came back out then with a sleeping Sarah lying in his arms, her face paint smudged and her hair in disarray, which just proved what Caroline had been saying and Sage couldn't help but laugh at her daughter. She ushered her boys out and opened the door for her husband before saying good-bye and another thank you to Caroline.

Once they were gone, Caroline turned to see Katherine talking to Lexi and Henry about their night, and she assumed that Elijah was gathering Daniel. When the brunette ended the conversation with the twins, Caroline addressed her. "Did you guys have a good time?"

"Yes, it was nice. The restaurant was wonderful, and as much as I love my son and my nieces and nephews, it was lovely to have a dinner with just the adults… well, and Kol." Caroline chuckled a little at Katherine's statement of the younger Mikaelson sibling.

Katherine could see that Caroline wanted to ask her something, but was hesitating to ask, and she had a feeling she knew what it was. "Nik is still out; he wanted me to tell you that he's not sure when he'll be back."

After checking to make sure the twins were still engaged in the tablet that Caroline had been reading from and watching the blonde in front of her closely, Katherine continued. "Kol being Kol picked up a woman at the club we were at but she had a friend that she didn't want to leave/to feel like a third wheel. . So he begged Nik to stay, to keep her company."

"Oh..." Caroline replied surprised at the news: Klaus was at a club… with a woman. She felt a slight tightening in her chest and her cheeks flushing red. She swallowed the lump in her throat before nodding. "Um…okay. Thanks for letting me know. I won't keep the twins up then."

Katherine could see the flash of emotion in Caroline's eyes before she looked away and towards Elijah as he came back from the bedroom with Daniel draped over his shoulder. "You have our gratitude Caroline."

She smiled and nodded. "Are you guys joining us tomorrow at the Wildlife sanctuary?"

"No, we are declining the invitation. I am taking my wife to Limegrove Lifestyle Centre in St. James to shop; however, we will be back to join the rest of the family for New Years." Elijah stated.

"I can't believe that it's New Year's Eve tomorrow. Only a few more days of vacation left, and from what Klaus was telling me earlier, they are going to be busy ones." Caroline exclaimed. "Lexi and Henry are excited about going to Animal Flower Cave, but I'm not real sure about it."

"Elijah wanted to take Daniel, but since trekking around a cave 'isn't the best thing for his pregnant wife,' he has decided against it… Although I told him that I will be fine at the condo on my own." Katherine let out with a huff.

"Katherine…now is not the time to renew this argument."

"I only bring it up because Caroline said that she wasn't sure about the cave and I am not going, so maybe we could just stay here, have some girl time while you take Daniel. That is if she agrees to it?" Katherine asked as she looked at the blonde. [

Caroline thought it was a pretty good idea. She wasn't necessarily a hiking kind of girl and that was kind of what the trip to the cave was going to be. "Sure, I'm fine with it."

"Then I'll call tomorrow and see about getting us appointments at the spa." Katherine replied with a nod.

Caroline opened her mouth to argue, because she hadn't planned on going to the spa. In a place like this, she doubted she could afford a basic session, let alone whatever treatments Katherine had in mind. However, before she could think to say anything, the brunette swept over to the twins, said her goodbyes to her niece and nephew and led her husband carrying their sleeping son out the front door, calling goodbye as they left. Shaking her head to herself, she turned back to the kids. "Lexi, Henry time for bed. Go get your pajamas on and brush your teeth. I'll be in in a minute to say good night."

"Will you read us some more from the book?" Lexi asked. "I want to know what happens when Lucy tells her siblings about Mr. Tumnus."

"Yeah," She answered with a nod and smile, "But only if you are in bed and ready when I get in there."

The two of them knew she was serious and quickly got up before they scampered towards their rooms.

"Don't forget your teeth!" Caroline called after them as she began to move around the room, picking up and cleaning as she went. All of the Mikaelson kids had been good about cleaning up after themselves but in the sudden rush to go when their parents arrived, some things had been left out.

After giving the kids enough time to accomplish their bedtime tasks, she grabbed the tablet and headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms. She heard the kids talking and giggling about something but when she walked in, they were settled into their beds in their pajamas waiting for her. "Lexi, we need to put your hair back up or you're going to wake up with a bunch of knots and tangles in it."

Caroline moved over to the twins' bathroom quickly, not catching the panicked look that passed between the kids. "Caroline!"

"Just a minute Henry." Caroline replied as she flipped on the light, and walked over to the sink where she saw Lexi's hairbrush lying. Then she screamed.

The twins came scrambled out of their beds and came running when they heard the scream. They saw Caroline standing in front of the sink, looking surprised as well as furious. She turned towards the twins when she heard them enter and pointed at the sink. "Seriously guys? Crabs? You're keeping crabs in here?"

"Sand crabs." Henry corrected innocently. "I found them out on the beach earlier. Dad said I couldn't buy the hermit crabs we saw earlier, but he didn't say I couldn't keep any that I find."

"We just put them in the sink with some sand and they eat what's in the sand." Lexi explained. "That's what Henry said. We named that one Mr. Crab and the other one is named Sandy."

"Guys, you can't keep them." Caroline told them.

"Why not?" Henry asked.

"Well for one, the people at the airport are not going to let you take them off the island, and two, your dad said no to the hermit crab because you already have a pet dragon at home, Henry."

"I can take care of more than one pet!" Henry argued.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you can't keep them." Caroline declared. "We going to take them back out tomorrow and release them."

"Fine." Henry huffed before stomping out of the room. Lexi just shook her head at him and whispered, "I told him Daddy and you wouldn't let us keep them, but he told me to be quiet."

Caroline just snickered at the little girl's remark and nodded in empathy before she lead the girl back out to the bedroom. Caroline quickly brushed Lexi's hair up into a ponytail before Henry was in his bed, but turned away and acting like he was sleeping. She knew he was mad that he couldn't keep the crabs and wanted to make sure that everyone knew it. She left him alone but made sure that he could hear her as she read another chapter in the book. Lexi was half-asleep by the time she was done and she could see Henry's back moving up and down steadily and figured he was asleep too. She shut off the light and closed the door.

She walked back out into the living room and picked up the few things that she had missed during her first sweep. Once she was done, she stood there for a minute trying to decide what to do. Her thoughts went to Klaus and wondered when he might be home. Katherine had not said when he'd be back, but Caroline was sure it would be awhile. When guys bought women drinks at bars, it wasn't usually just a quick drink. Typically when guys bought women drinks like this, it was for other reasons. Reasons that she suddenly didn't feel very comfortable thinking about. It was exactly for those reasons that she thought to go and take advantage of the large tub in her bathroom so she could relax and clear her mind.

The tub filled up quickly and it wasn't long before Caroline was soaking in the warm, soothing water. However, the tub did not seem to be relaxing her like she thought, and her mind kept drifting to Klaus. The thought of him being at a bar with some random woman was just such a foreign concept to her. She was suddenly very curious about what the woman he was with looked like. She would have to be attractive; having met Katherine and knowing that Tatia looked just like her, she knew he was used to being with gorgeous women. Caroline wondered if the woman was a brunette, or if he would try to shun the reminder of his ex-wife and pick a redhead instead…or maybe a blonde?

She shook her head quickly as she pushed the thought of him with a blonde away. It just felt weird to think that; and maybe that was because she couldn't help herself picturing herself as that blonde. She figured that had to be natural, since the only other blondes in his life were the ones he was related to. She tried to picture him with one of the blonde women she'd seen around the resort, but she found the thought nauseating. Most of the single woman she had seen didn't seem like the kind of woman Klaus would be around: they looked very fake; they were out at the pool or on the beach in swimsuits that were for show than not function; and finally, judging from their hair and makeup, she was pretty sure they were there to hunt, not swim. Rebekah had pointed out a couple of them at the club last night and said that they were gold diggers who were looking to latch on to a guy. The thought of one of those women hanging all over him turned her feelings from nauseated to angry.

Caroline paused in mid-motion as she ran the loofa over her leg when the anger hit her. Why was she so angry at that image? She was acting like she saw some tramp coming onto her boyfriend, as if she was jealous, or something. That was silly, she couldn't be jealous; Klaus wasn't even hers. No, she was just concerned for the kids and the thought of what it would do to them to be around one of those women. Of course she knew that wouldn't happen either. Klaus didn't date. He might be spending time with some random woman he met in a bar, but that didn't mean he was going to be bringing introducing her to his children. If anything, he would probably just sleep with her.

"Stop it, Caroline!" She scolded herself shutting her eyes as if that could block the image of Klaus and some unknown woman from her mind. She didn't know what was wrong with her. She quickly pulled the stopper out of the tub and got up to dry off, but she realized then that she has left her pajamas in her room. She wrapped the small bath towel around her, securing it around her breasts, and set out to get her clothes. She swung open the door and hurried out, barreling right into something hard, which knocked her backwards. "Son of a bitch!"

Klaus reached out and grabbed ahold of Caroline as she fell backwards and pulled her upright. As he did, he pulled her flush up against him. He saw fear in her blue eyes before she realized it was just him. "Sorry love, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Well what the hell did you think would happen if you snuck into my bedroom?" Caroline snapped, her reply a little harsher than she intended.

"I wasn't stealing my way in here like a thief in the night; I came looking for you to let you know I had returned. When you didn't answer my knock, I came in to find you. You ran into me." Klaus barked back.

"Sorry, you just scared the shit out of me. I just wasn't expecting you to be in my room." She apologized and explained. Realizing the position they were in, Caroline moved to step back but found he still had his hands wrapped around her upper arms. Like the other day on the beach, they felt unbelievably warm against her skin, even though she had just stepped out of a hot bath, and she could swear she felt tingles traveling across her skin.

"Obviously." Klaus said as he looked down at her state of dress, or at least what he could see with her pressed against him. She was wore only a small towel, one that left little to the imagination, and her skin was flushed a pale pink. He didn't know if it was pink from the heat of the water she had just got out of, embarrassment or something else entirely. He felt a jolt of arousal shoot through him and he released her quickly before his body completely betrayed him. "Well as I said, I wanted to make you aware that I had returned. I'll let you get to bed."

Caroline watched as he turned on his heel and started to leave before she spoke up. "Um, can you wait a minute? I wanted to tell you a couple of things. Can you let me get changed?"

He turned to look at her, eyebrow raised in question. "Did something happen with the twins?"

"Yes, I mean no. They are fine." Caroline answered quickly. She grabbed her clothes off of her bed before rushing to the bathroom, calling over her shoulder as she shut the door, "Just give me a minute."

Klaus lingered in his spot not far from the doorway as he waited for her to change, doing his best not to think about her lack of clothing on the other side of the door. He only had to wait a few minutes before she returned, although he wasn't sure that the tank top and shorts she now wore was any better than the towel.

"Sorry about that." She smiled at him in apology. "Anyways, the twins are fine but your son decided that he was going to take some of the local wildlife with him home as souvenirs."

Klaus closed his eyes and brought his thumb and finger up to the bridge of his nose, not surprised. "Do I even want to know what?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing too big, like a sea turtle or anything. Just a couple of crabs, I found them in the twins' sink. I explained to him that the island officials won't let him take them out of here and that he already has a pet at home, but he was pretty upset. Just wanted to warn you."

"I appreciate that."

"Also, I talked to Katherine and Elijah earlier, and I'm going to spend the last day with Katherine here at the resort so that Elijah can take Daniel to the caves with you." Caroline explained. She laughed when she saw his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "What? Katherine and I have kind of become friends, and neither one of us really wanted to go so it works out. She mentioned something about going to the spa, but I'm going to see if I can talk her down a little bit on that."

"Why? Don't most women love spending a few hours at the spa?" Klaus asked before he realized what might be holding her back. "If money is an issue, just charge it to me."

"I couldn't do that. You've already paid for everything on this trip." She argued.

"Nonsense, I pay for the expenses on any trip I ask my employees to take with us." He reasoned. "Please consider it a belated Christmas present. The children really wanted to get you something, but I wasn't sure what you might want so this works out perfectly."

She opened her mouth to argue, but could see from his expression that there was no arguing. "Fine."

"Good." Klaus replied with a dimpled smirk. "Anything else?"

"Um, no that was it." Caroline answered. She couldn't help but look over him then for any signs of what he might have been up to. No swollen lips, or mused hair and he hadn't smelled of perfume when she was against him. "Did you have a good time? I mean, Katherine said you and Kol had…met a couple of people."

Klaus tried not to shudder as he recalled the woman with whom he had the misfortune of spending the last uncomfortable hour, along with his horny younger brother and another equally interesting prospect. "Not really. Let's just say that my brother and I have very different tastes and that he owes me greatly."

"Oh, sorry that it turned out so crappy." She replied. She was shocked to realize she'd felt a small amount of relief at his words, but quickly pushed it away and ignored it.

"I'm not." Klaus commented with a shrug, noting the small smile that came across her face at his answer. He returned her smile with a smirk before nodding. "Good night Caroline."

"Night…." Caroline called and he disappeared out her door.

Well?...

Next part will skip ahead a few days to when Caroline spends the day with Katherine at the spa. I need to start getting this vacation wrapped up and them back to Boston. Hopefully I will post next Friday. I've had a crazy few days and then woke up sick today so we'll see.

Thanks for reading.