AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies...sorry it has been so long since an update. Real life has been getting in the way. I feel horrible for making you guys wait, especially in the aftermath of 4x20. I know some people who don't follow me on Tumblr were probably worried that I might have given up but nope! I will ship Klaroline forever.

Thank you klarolineepiclove, jomosfamilyjewels, and idiot-wind for their help and CeceVolume for checking everything over and helping me.

Now enjoy!

Part 30

Klaus stood rooted to his spot for what seemed like hours though in reality it was only minutes before he snapped out of the shock. He knew he shouldn't have let her leave and he rushed to the door in the hopes that he could stop her. He knew she was on foot so hopefully he could catch her.

Since he wasn't sure where she had been heading, when he reached the sidewalk in front of the house, he looked both directions. There were a few people scattered around but he didn't see the bright blonde anywhere, she was gone. He briefly thought about heading to the closet 'T' station but he couldn't leave the twins unattended. He briefly thought about calling her and requesting that she come back but he had a feeling that she would say no or simply ignore his call. Instead he would wait for her to come home that night and talk to her, the next few days were going to be crazy due to his sister's wedding and he wouldn't have a chance otherwise until it was over.

When he reentered the house, he saw Henry was at the top of the stairs, frowning down at him. "What has you so upset? Did Norbert get loose again?"

"No." Henry answered. "Why were you and Caroline fighting? Again. I thought you said that you guys were friends."

Klaus closed his eyes in weariness. He should have known one of them would have heard the conversation and he should have waited until later to confront Caroline about his conversation with Dean. "We weren't fighting. We were having a discussion."

"A loud one. You yell at Lex and I if we raise our voices when we are talking." Henry replied, his arms coming up to cross over his chest. "If you guys keep fighting, Caroline is going to leave."

Henry's statement made Klaus stop his argument before the words could leave his mouth. He remembered when they had gone ice skating with Caroline and his son had said something similar. He was very worried that Caroline was going to leave them and Klaus felt dreadful for being a part of something that would add to his fears. "Come here."

Henry crept down the stairs until he was standing eye to eye with his father. "Henry, I'm sorry you had to hear that. I wasn't lying when I said we weren't fighting, we weren't. Things are just…complicated and we are trying to work things out. Adults argue sometimes."

"Like Aunt Kat and Uncle Elijah?"

"Yes, like them."

"And Uncle Kol and…everyone else?" Henry asked.

Klaus tried not to smile at Henry's question but he failed. "Yes just like that. And Uncle Kol hasn't left has he?"

"Nope, not even when Aunt Bekah threw her shoe at him."

"Exactly." Klaus replied. "Head back up to your room now and finish with your dragon. I'm going to go deal with dinner."

"Thanks Dad." Henry said before hugging his dad tightly.

After his son released him, Klaus watched him head back up the stairs, hoping that he hadn't just lied to his son.

/

*buzz*

Bonnie wasn't expecting any company, especially one of her best friends so when she saw who it was through the peep hole, she opened the door with a smile. But when she saw that her friend's eyes were slightly pink, she became concerned "Caroline what's wrong?"

"He kissed me." Caroline admitted.

"Who kissed you?"

"Klaus."

Bonnie's mouth dropped open in surprise at Caroline's confession. "He kissed you? Just now?"

"No, a few weeks ago. And that's only the beginning…"

"There's more?" Bonnie asked. When Caroline nodded, she reached forward and pulled her inside. "Get in here."

Caroline breathed a sigh of relief as she plopped onto Bonnie's couch. As soon as she left the house, she had headed to the closest 'T' station. While she walked, she had called Anna. She knew there was no way after her face-off with Klaus that she would be able to meet with the other woman without completely losing it. She apologized profusely to her, telling her that they would reschedule before hanging up. When she reached the station, she hopped onto the train that would take her to Bonnie's. She needed a friend to talk to, even if she ended up getting an 'I told you so.'

"Okay, start at the beginning." Bonnie said as she led Caroline over to the couch.

"I told you that the date with Dean didn't work out and that's why I wasn't going to see him again. But it was a lie." Caroline admitted. "It was fine and I was going to go out with him again but then I came home and Klaus was waiting for me. We kind of ran into each other while I was on my date, he had seen me across the street with Dean, and I saw him with this woman. He didn't know that my date was with Dean and started arguing that I shouldn't be dating one of his other employees. We were fighting about it, I asked him why I shouldn't date Dean and instead of answering me, he kissed me."

"Holy shit, what did you do?"

"The first kiss was soft and kind of quick. He pulled back to see my reaction, I guess he thought I might slap him. I didn't. Instead I grabbed him and pulled him close for a second kiss."

"Oh, Caroline why?"

"I don't know, okay? Scratch that, I do know why. I know he is my boss and I know I shouldn't have but I have fallen for him and when the guy who you have fallen for suddenly grabs you and kisses you, you grab him and kiss back. Even if you know you shouldn't." She explained.

"Tell me that you only kissed him."

"Well, um. Kind of?" Caroline responded, blushing slightly but quickly clarified when she saw Bonnie's eyes widen. "Clothes stayed on! Things were getting a little heated but then Lexi woke up…"

Bonnie gasped. "Did she see you?"

"No, thankfully. We were in the living room and she called for Klaus from the foyer." Caroline explained. She could not express how grateful she was that Lexi hadn't actually walked in on them. She would have been mortified if that had happened.

Once Bonnie was sure that Caroline hadn't permanently scarred Lexi, Caroline proceeded to tell her the rest of what had really been happening over the past few weeks. It felt good to talk about it with someone that wasn't involved in the situation. Her friend just sat there and listened to her get the whole story out, asking a question on occasion but that was it until the end. "So what did he say when you told him about the aftereffects of your accident?"

"He said he was sorry."

"That's it?"

"I didn't exactly give him a chance to say anything else. I ran out." Caroline explained. "But there wasn't really anything to say."

"Caroline, you can't spring that on someone and just leave." Bonnie chastised. "Listen, from what you said, Klaus obviously wants to be with you and has been doing whatever he can to convince you to give him a chance, not knowing what was holding you back. Then when you tell him, you just left and didn't give him a chance to absorb it."

"Are you actually trying to talk me into dating him?" Caroline asked. "I figured I'd get a scolding from you."

"I'm not trying to talk you into anything. And yes, I lectured you about not getting too close to him and the kids but that was because I was worried about you. I thought that you could fall for him and things would be one-sided. Then you would continue on, miserable." Bonnie stated. "But now, from what you told me it's not one-sided. And that changes things or at least my opinion on the whole thing."

"What I'm trying to say is, don't blow this chance just because you think things are going to go a certain way. I'm not pushing you to be with him, but I want you to think about it before you shoot down all possibilities." Bonnie explained. "And I'm here whenever you want to talk."

"Would you mind if I stayed here tonight?" Caroline asked. "I don't want to face him at the moment. I'll just get up early and go home in time to get the kids ready."

"Of course. We can slumber it tonight." Bonnie said reassuring.

Caroline smiled her thanks to her friend. She was glad she had come to see Bonnie, she really needed her friend.

/

When the card game paused for a break, Klaus rose and headed straight to the bar. He needed more alcohol. He gave his order to the bartender before turning around and surveying the room. The bachelor party was not the normal stag party; Damon had surprisingly gone the tasteful route. He wasn't sure if he had done that out of choice or the threat of his baby sister the bride. He suspected the latter but regardless it was a welcoming change from how he had suspected the night might go. From what he knew of Damon, he had expected a party dedicated to hedonism to celebrate Stefan's last night as a single man but instead it was quite tame, with an open bar and one stripper to entertain the bridegroom. With the party going as it was, he was able to sit on the sidelines, which he preferred, without seeming out of place. He was not in a social mood at the moment.

When he turned to retrieve his drink, he felt someone come up behind him before he heard the voice of one of his older brothers. "Niklaus."

"Elijah." Klaus replied with a nod. Elijah moved to obtain his own drink before taking up a position next to him. The two of them stood there for several minutes, Klaus could tell that Elijah was waiting for something. "Whatever it is you have to say, spit it out brother."

"What makes you think that I have something to say? Can I not just want to spend time with my brother?" Elijah asked.

"If that is what you want, then I have no problem with it. However I know you better than that Elijah," Klaus stated. "You never shy away from telling me what is on your mind, why stop now?"

Despite Klaus' statement, Elijah took several minutes before speaking again. "I have just noticed that you don't seem to be enjoying the festivities much. I would think that considering Stefan is your friend as well as our sister's groom, you would be over there with him enjoying your evening."

"I'm not in much of a celebrating mood." Klaus stated as he looked over at Stefan who was a couple of bar stools away.

"That wouldn't have anything to do with Ms. Forbes would it?"

Klaus turned his attention away from Stefan to look at his brother in question before the answer came to him. "Your wife has a big mouth."

Elijah smiled a little, "I find it telling that instead of stating that my inquiry was foolish or idiotic, you immediately assume that something Katherine said is the reason I'm asking."

"So you can honestly tell me that Katherine has not said anything to you about what she thinks has or hasn't happening between me and Caroline?" Klaus asked.

"No, she told me everything that was discussed between the two of you a couple of weeks ago. She told me how envious of Caroline's date you were, how you looked as if you had just come from the first warm bed you could climb into, and how when she confronted you about it all, you snapped at her." Elijah stated before leaning in slightly and stared him straight in the eyes. "And it was only her request that stopped me from coming over to your house that night and having a discussion of my own with you."

Klaus nodded in understanding, Elijah was not happy with him yelling at his pregnant wife and he couldn't blame him a bit. That night he had been a mess and let his temper get away from him. "I wouldn't have blamed you."

Elijah nodded. "She also told me that the twins contacted her when you and Caroline were acting strangely, but that she got no answers as to what happened except that Lexi caught you arguing on the same night that you argued with Katherine. Since then I have watched you, and I have noticed something different about you. Sometimes you are tense and on edge, then other times morose. And I believe that has everything to do with Ms. Forbes."

Klaus took a gulp from his tumbler, finishing it off as he contemplated whether he wanted to ignore Elijah's probe or chose to talk about it. After a minute, he decided on the latter. "You would be correct. I care about Caroline as more than an employee, more than a friend."

Elijah looked at him, his eyebrow raised. "And she does not return your affections?"

"No, she does. If she didn't this might be easier." Klaus admitted before motioning to the bartender for another drink.

"I don't understand."

"Despite my confession to her that I care about her and the knowledge that she feels the same about me, Caroline does not want to pursue a relationship." Klaus explained.

"I must say that I had an idea that this would happen ever since the first time I saw the two of you interacting. I haven't seen you connect with someone like that before, not even Tatia." Elijah replied. "I assume that Caroline's hesitancy is due to professional reasons? I can see her having issues being involved with her boss. There would be a bit of a stigma attached to it, you read sordid stories about that kind of thing."

"Thank you Elijah, that makes me feel better." Klaus groaned.

"It doesn't sound like it was one-sided."

"It's not, but Caroline is being firm on her decision, despite my attempts to sway her." He replied as he ran his hand over his face. "I thought she was just afraid of the idea. She had said that she was worried that when, not if, things ended between us, that she would lose me, the twins, and her job. I thought she was just being pessimistic, thinking that things would turn out badly without even trying. But then yesterday I found out why she was so sure of it."

"What were her reasons?" Elijah asked.

"After pressing her, she told me that she can't have children." Klaus confessed.

Elijah, like Klaus, was good at masking his expressions but he did not even try to hide his surprise at Klaus' announcement. After Katherine's difficult pregnancies, he was familiar with the possibility of not being able to have a child but Caroline's situation was different. "That must be extremely hard for her to live with. I applaud her for channeling her love of children into a fulfilling career."

Klaus nodded. He did admire that about her, she had gone through a terrible accident that had left her forever scarred both on the outside and inside and had come out stronger. "She believes that I would eventually break things off with her due to that."

"I could see where that would be a concern for her, with any relationship she begins but considering you already have children, she would be even more worried that you would not accept her if she couldn't give you more." Elijah explained. "Do you? Want more children?"

"I've not really considered it. I always wanted a large family, like ours but once I had the twins and Tatia left they have been my sole focus." Klaus answered.

"Then you need to make a decision, do you still want to be with Caroline regardless of what she told you? Because there are always other options, choosing not to have any more or adopt." Elijah declared. "But would you be able to live with the knowledge that the two of you would never share a child?"

"It's all I've been thinking about since she told me." Klaus admitted before draining his glass again. He needed more alcohol.

/

Caroline was still awake when Klaus came home from Stefan's bachelor party and if she hadn't been, she was sure that the commotion he made would have woken her. Not only the thumping of him stumbling up the stairs but also the sound of voices. She briefly wondered if Klaus hadn't brought some company home until she realized that both voices were male and it was then that she recognized Stefan's voice.

She waited until their voices faded, indicating that they had gone up the stairs to the third floor to Klaus' room before she came out of her own. She found herself hovering around the stairs. She wouldn't admit to herself that the idea of him being so drunk that he needed help home didn't make her worry, just slightly uneasy. It wasn't as if he never drank, he did but she hadn't seen him drink to this extent. Maybe it was just because he had been at a bachelor party but she wondered if some of it wasn't because of their last conversation.

They hadn't spoken aside from greetings since the night before so she wasn't sure what he thought about her confession. They weren't ignoring each other like before; it was more like the timing was never right. She had only seen him for a few minutes before he went to work that morning and then he had gone straight to the party afterwards.

A few minutes later, she saw Stefan walking down the stairs towards her and she smiled. "Hey."

"Hey, we didn't wake you did we?" Stefan asked.

"No, I was already up." Caroline assured him. "How was your party?"

"It was good; thankfully Damon listened to me for once. We played poker, smoked cigars and drank a lot of liquor. He had one stripper there, but it wasn't anything too wild that could piss off Rebekah." Stefan answered with a chuckle.

"Well that's good; you wouldn't want her to call off the wedding with less than twenty four hours to go." She laughed. "Are you okay to get home?"

"Yeah, Rebekah insisted on hiring a car for the night for me, she didn't want me to worry about driving after the party." Stefan explained. "It's why I offered to bring Klaus home; I thought it'd be easiest. He's okay by the way. Pretty much passed out once I got him into bed."

"Oh, that's good." Caroline said, trying to sound casual as she followed him down the stairs. She noticed Stefan staring at her knowingly. "What?"

"You, trying to act very blasé to the fact that you're relieved to know he's fine." Stefan stated. "I know you care about him, Care."

"Well yeah, we're friends."

Stefan and her might not be close friends but they were friends enough that Caroline could easily recognize the look on his face, it was his 'serious' face. "You're a bit more than that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Caroline, for one thing, lying isn't your strong suit so don't try. Two, it's obvious that something has been going on between the two of you since the trip. And three, I overheard the beginning of an interesting conversation tonight, between Klaus and Elijah." Stefan stated. "Do I need to tell you what the topic of their talk was?"

"I assume something about the two of us." Caroline stated. When Stefan nodded, she went on. "Are you upset with me? I mean you're the one who introduced me to him."

"I'm not mad at you Caroline. Yes, this isn't what I expected when I suggested you to him but I can't say that I'm disappointed in the outcome." He confessed.

"We aren't together, Stefan."

"I know. But I think you should be."

"Stefan…"

"Klaus is my friend, he and the twins are going to be family. He has been alone for 6 years, never pursuing that kind of relationship with any woman, and then he meets you. And you're all he wants." He declared.

"Klaus and I have already talked about this. It's too big of a risk and things are just going to stay like they are."

"Can you honestly say that you want to keep living like things are now? You wanting him, but not having him while living with him and the kids? And what would happen if he met someone else? Could you handle seeing that?" Stefan asked.

"Things aren't that simple Stefan." Caroline replied.

"Love isn't simple, if it was it wouldn't be worth it." Stefan acknowledged. He watched as Caroline took in his words, her gaze telling him that she was lost a bit in her thoughts. "I should be going. I want to get a few hours of sleep."

"Um, yeah. Busy day tomorrow." Caroline said as she walked him to the door. "I won't see you until after the ceremony so good luck."

"Thanks." Stefan replied.

Caroline locked up after Stefan left then headed to the kitchen. She retrieved a bottle of water and some ibuprofen before climbing back up the stairs. However instead of going to her room, she climbed another flight and went to Klaus' room.

She had only been on this floor a handful of times, and never had she gone into his bedroom. The room was dark but there was enough light from the hallway that she could see inside. It was the biggest of any of the bedrooms in the house, painted in warm colors and had vaulted ceilings. The centerpiece of the room was a large king size bed where she could see Klaus lying.

Stefan hadn't been kidding when he had said that Klaus had passed out when he hit the bed. Stefan had managed to get his shoes off of him and his coat and Caroline was grateful that he was fully dressed. He was flat on his back, not quite in the middle of the bed but he wasn't in any danger of falling off either.

Caroline set the bottle of water and pills on the table next to him, hopefully he would see them when he woke up. He didn't need to have a huge hangover on the day of his sister's wedding. She couldn't help but stand there and watch him. It wasn't often that she was able to look at him without worrying that he would notice. He looked different when he was sleeping, no less handsome, just different. With his eyes closed, their blue gaze was hidden from her, his face was relaxed so those alluring dimples were absent. His curls stuck up in a few different directions, and she had to stop herself from reaching out to fix them. Not trusting herself to keep her hands to herself, Caroline retreated from his bedside. But before she could leave the room, his voice stopped her. "Caroline."

With eyes wide and feeling guilty at being caught in his room, she turned to face him. However she was surprised to see his eyes were still closed. He hadn't woken up at all, he had said her name in his sleep. She didn't want to think what that meant. She quickly left the room before he did actually wake up.

The questions that Stefan had asked her, about if she could keep living with this way, were running through her head as she went down to her room. With everything out in the open now, she wondered if Klaus would stop pursuing her to change her mind. Her heart clenched at the thought despite the fact that she was the one pushing him away. What would she do if he moved on? Could she handle seeing that?

She went to her desk and opened her laptop. The tears began to stream down her face as she started: Dear Klaus...

Okay, next part will be Rebekah and Stefan's wedding, what do you think? Will they share a dance?