AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies! How are we today? No, your eyes do not deceive you, I am updating.
I also wanted to say welcome to a bunch of new readers, glad you took a chance to read this. I also want to thank the readers who have been reading and recommending this story to your friends. That means a lot to me. And I loved reading everyone's thoughts on what Caroline was writing at the end of the last part, it will be addressed a little in this part.
Thanks to klarolineepiclove, and jomosfamilyjewels for helping me step by step through this part, idiot-wind for her suggestions and CeceVolume for her betaing skills.
Now onto the wedding!
Part 31
Caroline could not remember ever attending such a beautiful and lavish wedding before. The evening ceremony had taken place at one of the many historic churches in Boston, where most of the lighting had been from the multiple candle chandeliers around the church. It had created a very romantic atmosphere, one that continued to the Atlantic room at the Boston Harbor Hotel where the reception was being held.
"Wow." Bonnie gasped as they entered the room.
"That about sums it up." Elena agreed as they looked around.
Three of the walls were majority windows that looked out at the harbor with all of its twinkling lights from passing boats, buoys, and far off buildings giving the illusion that the candles spread out past the barriers of the walls. The room itself was draped in red and white fabric, with more candles and flowers. Since it was Valentine's Day, Rebekah had gone with red for her primary wedding color and she was pretty sure that the female Mikaelson had just created a shortage of red candles and flowers on the East Coast.
"Let's find our table and then get a drink before the happy couple gets here." Caroline suggested. Though the wedding had been beautiful and she was happy for Stefan and Rebekah, she was feeling anxious. She still hadn't seen Klaus yet and wasn't sure what to expect. Granted, she hadn't actually given him the letter yet but that wasn't the only reason she was anxious, she still had not spoken to him about their encounter in the foyer.
After finishing her letter the night before, she had laid in bed for a couple of hours thinking over everything. Due to that, by the time she woke up this morning, Klaus and the twins had already left to attend a lunch that the Mikaelsons were having before the preparations started for the wedding. No, the first time she had laid eyes on him since last night was when he arrived at the alter next to Stefan and Damon as well as his brothers.
He didn't look to be feeling any ill effects from the night before, quite the opposite actually, no sign of pale skin, bags under his eyes or any other telltale of someone who had overindulged the night before. He looked as handsome as ever, possibly more so when her eyes trailed down to take in the tux that fit him perfectly. The cut highlighted his broad shoulders, his long body and trim waist. The effect made him look very debonair. His eyes had surveyed the crowd several times, but he never seemed to find her in the crowd. She doubted that would carry over into the reception however and knew that they would come face to face at some point.
Once they grabbed drinks from the bar, they found their table easily. Though Elena was Damon's girlfriend, only the wedding party itself had seats at the head table so the three of them were assigned to the same table along with several of Stefan's other friends and work associates. They chatted with the other people at the table about how beautiful the wedding was as well as the reception until the MC announced the arrival of the happy couple and their entourage. Caroline stood up and watched as all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered. She spotted him easily among his brothers, with the twins on either side of him. She watched him search her out of the crowd, and when he found her his eyes traveled over her.
As they entered the hall, Klaus looked around at all of the guests, searching for one in particular. It only took him a minute to find the familiar face. His eyes raked over and his breath stopped for a moment as he took her in. She looked unbelievably stunning. Her hair was in curls, but pulled back loosely at the back of her head. Normally he disliked her hair up but at that moment, he was enjoying the way it displayed her long elegant neck. At first glance, her red dress appeared to be modest with its high collar but it wasn't. The top was made almost completely made of lace that dipped down into her cleavage, while the rest of the dress clung perfectly to her curvy form before cutting off just above her knees. He brought his eyes back up to hers.
Caroline felt her smile falter a bit when their eyes met. She didn't think she had ever seen such a look of adoration from one person to another, especially not directed at her. She had been on the receiving end of his intense eyes but never like this. He held her eyes for a minute or so before the guests of honor and the crowd erupted in applause causing their connection to break.
Everyone took their seats and the MC announced that dinner would be served momentarily. The idle chitchat at their table started up again and Caroline did her best to focus on it instead of the head table. Thankfully the waiters arrived with their food and dinner got underway.
Despite the feeling of being watched, Caroline was enjoying herself. The food and wine were excellent and the conversation good. However, it was the voice of another Mikaelson that pulled her attention away from the table.
"Make sure you guys get as much as you want, believe me Stefan and Bekah paid enough for it."
"Katherine!" Caroline exclaimed, surprised to hear the pregnant brunette behind her. She turned around in her seat and smiled up at her. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine. I just thought I would come over to speak to you about something if you have a minute?" Katherine asked before looking over at Caroline's friends and the blonde realized that she should introduce them.
"Bonnie, Elena this is Katherine Mikaelson, she is married to Rebekah's brother Elijah. Katherine these are my friends, Bonnie Bennett and Elena Gilbert. I don't think you've met Elena before, she's Damon's girlfriend."
"Oh yes, I remember Stefan spoke of her before. He mentioned that he could see a resemblance between the two of us." Katherine stated as her eyes studied Elena's face before shrugging. "I don't see it however."
Elena looked taken aback at Katherine's brashness before she recovered and shrugged. "Me either."
Katherine just smiled before turning her attention back to the person she had come to speak to. "I wanted to come and ask a favor for Rebekah. I had planned to talk to you earlier at lunch and I was surprised when I didn't see you there."
Caroline's brow furrowed in confusion. Why would Katherine think that she would have been at the Mikaelson family luncheon? "I thought it was just for your family."
"It was." Katherine replied with a smile.
Though she only felt more confused by Katherine's answer, Caroline continued. "What favor does Rebekah need?"
"A dance partner for Kol." Katherine answered. "After the newlyweds' first dance as a married couple, she planned for the entire wedding party to dance as well."
"Can't he dance with one of the bridesmaids?"
"Well Rose plans to dance with her husband Trevor and April will be dancing with her boyfriend Adrian so they are both taken. Damon will be dancing with Elena, Elijah with me of course, Sage with Finn and you with Nik."
"Excuse me what?" Caroline questioned. "I'm dancing with Klaus? No one told me."
Katherine just shrugged that damn smile back in place. "Well we just all assumed that you would, given how close the two of you are."
"What is she talking about Caroline?" Elena asked.
"Nothing," She responded quickly then realized how that must have looked so she tried to figure out a better answer. "I mean, since we are friends and he's the only one of her brothers that isn't married or dating, she probably just meant that I would step in as a substitute or something."
"Yeah, that's what I meant." Katherine agreed. "But anyways, I guess Rebekah thought that Kol would bring a date and it wouldn't be an issue. However, he decided to come all on his own and while I have no doubt that he would be more than willing to charm some single lady here into dancing with him; we thought it'd be better to set it up ahead of time."
"If you already have me paired up with Klaus, how am I going to be able to help you?" Caroline questioned.
"Stefan had mentioned how your friend Bonnie here might be willing to dance with Kol. So I was going to ask you at lunch if you'd be willing to talk to her about it but now that I'm here, I guess I don't need to go through you." Katherine explained before looking at Bonnie. "So would you be willing?"
Bonnie looked at her wide eyed at being put on the spot. "I don't even know who you are talking about. Why would I want to dance with a complete stranger?"
"He's right over there." Caroline said, pointing out the youngest Mikaelson brother. "Kol is a good guy, most of the time."
"That inspires a lot of confidence, Caroline." Bonnie replied as she rolled her eyes.
"No, I mean he is a good guy, he's the one who was going to stand up for me at the club in Barbados and took me home after. He's just a little…overzealous and flirty when you first meet him." She explained. She felt kind of guilty for pushing Kol onto her best friend but it was only for one dance. "I know Stefan would appreciate it."
Bonnie let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll do it. But if his hands go somewhere they aren't supposed to, I won't be held responsible for hurting him."
"I like her, she's definitely able to take care of Kol and keep him in line." Katherine commented as she looked back at Caroline. "Now that that's settled I'm going to go tell Rebekah. See you on the dance floor."
Caroline watched Katherine retreat back to the wedding party table, gliding along gracefully despite her expanding pregnancy belly to where Kol sat next to Klaus. She assumed that Katherine was informing Kol of his new dancing partner when the other woman pointed over to their table. Kol and Klaus both looked in their direction, Kol looking at Bonnie but Klaus' eyes were focused on her. She thought about what Katherine had said, that his family had just assumed that she would be his dance partner, and wondered if he had been in on the idea.
She turned her attention away from him, and back to her friends. She had just finished her food when she felt two pairs of familiar little arms come from behind to grab her. "Caroline!"
"There are my sweeties." Caroline said as she brought her hand to lie on top of theirs and squeezed. She tried not to think about how she would miss them. The twins released her neck and she moved her chair around so that she could face them. She smiled widely as she got a closer look at their clothes. Henry was in a miniature version of the tuxes that his father and uncles wore, while Lexi was dressed in a red princess dress with a pair of ruby rhinestone slippers on.
"You two look adorable. What do you guys think?" She asked her friends.
"Absolutely." Elena said.
"I love your hair Lexi." Bonnie added.
Lexi's hand came up to play with the intricate braids that were piled on top of her head. "Thank you, Aunt Bekah took me with her and the bridesmaids after lunch to a fancy salon to get it done. It was so much fun, and look, Caroline, I got my nails done too."
Caroline took the outstretched hand and looked at the small nails painted a glittery red. "Very pretty. What did your dad think about it?"
"He wasn't too happy, but Aunt Bekah told him to be quiet because it was her day and I could wear it for one day." Lexi told them with a mischievous smile that made Caroline laugh. She knew that Klaus had probably argued with his sister over the matter, he didn't like the idea of Lexi having any makeup on, even something as harmless as nail polish.
"Caroline, my shoes are hurting my feet and my tie is choking me, can I take them off?" Henry asked as he fidgeted.
"But you look so handsome." Caroline argued as she reached forward and fiddled with his tie.
"Tell him no, Caroline. Dad told him he couldn't when he caught him trying to take it off in the car on the way here." Lexi advised.
Caroline reached over and pulled Henry up onto her lap. She felt bad for him knowing how uncomfortable he was. He hated getting dressed up, or wearing any kind of constricting clothes. However, she knew she couldn't go against what Klaus had told his son. "Sorry Henry, but if your dad said no, then you are going to have to wait. Your aunt wants lots of pictures but maybe after they cut the cake you can take a little bit of it off."
Henry's eyes lit up at the mention of the large wedding cake. "I hope they cut it soon."
"It shouldn't be too long, since everyone is wrapping up dinner." Caroline assured him. "So what do you two think of the wedding? Aside from the uncomfortable clothes?"
"It's okay." Henry answered with a shrug. "The ceremony lasted too long and there were too many pictures but the food was good and cake is coming."
"Well I thought the flowers were pretty and Aunt Rebekah looked beautiful, like a princess. I hope whenever I get married I will look just as pretty." Lexi stated.
"Oh you will! You'll be even prettier." Caroline promised her. "And Henry will look even more handsome than he does today when he gets married."
"Like my dad?" Henry asked looking at his nanny with hopeful eyes.
"Yes." Caroline answered. Henry looked very much like a miniature version of his father, so she had no doubt that he would grow up to be just as handsome.
Lexi huffed, 'Like Henry even wants to get married."
"Well it's not like I mean tomorrow, you guys have a long time before either of you have to worry about stuff like weddings." She replied. "A very long time."
It was then that the MC announced that the newlyweds would be cutting the cake, Henry wiggled around on her lap in excitement as they watched Stefan and Rebekah step up to the large multi-tiered cake before they scampered off to get a piece. Soon after the cake was consumed and the festivities moved to the dance floor.
Caroline couldn't help but smile as she watched Stefan and Rebekah dance. The two of them looked unbelievably happy, almost to the point that she thought that it was the two of them that casted the glow about the room and not the numerous candles.
As their first dance wound down, Caroline saw Klaus and Kol making their way towards their table. The three of them stood, Elena leaving to meet up with Damon while Bonnie and Caroline greeted their own partners.
Kol smiled a wide grin at her before turning his attention over to Bonnie. "I hear that I have luckily been paired with you Darling."
"It appears so." Bonnie responded, as she eyed him.
"Shall we?" Kol asked as he offered his hand to her. When Bonnie accepted it, Kol brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the top.
Caroline watched the whole exchange with curiosity, especially when she saw a look of interest in her friend's eyes though she tried to hide it. Instead of swooning, Bonnie pulled out of his grip, lifted her chin and stared straight at Kol. "Are we going to dance or just stand here?"
Her words only made Kol smile wider. "I like pretty little things with sharp tongues."
"I have a feeling that you have no idea how to handle a woman who talks back." Bonnie stated as she brushed past him towards the dance floor.
Klaus smirked as he watched his younger brother and Caroline's friend before he turned to the beautiful blonde. He held out his hand towards her. "Shall we sweetheart?"
Caroline nodded as she reached forward and took it. She felt a spark as they made skin to skin contact but didn't withdrawal as his hand wrapped around her fingers. Klaus' smile widened as he walked backwards, leading her towards the other couples his eyes never leaving her as the music began.
Once they reached their destination, he lifted the arm that held her hand up spinning her in a slow circle until she faced him again and pulled her close. Their joined hands stayed clasped while she placed hers on his shoulder and his other hand came up to her waist, pulling her close. Closer than what would be considered appropriate but his hold would not let her pull away. This was not how she figured their first encounter to go.
If she thought that the touch of her hand in his had ignited a spark between them, then the feeling of his body so close to hers created an inferno. She could feel the hard contours of his chest even through the layers of both of their garments, but what was more overwhelming was how close his face was to hers. Their noses were barely inches away from each other and his eyes locked on hers. She couldn't look away so she tried to occupy their focus elsewhere. "You might have warned me that your sister was planning for us to be dance partners."
Klaus was intrigued by Caroline's statement. "Is the idea of dancing with me so horrible?"
"No, I just don't like being caught off guard." She explained. "And Katherine seemed to enjoy it a little too much when she informed me of Rebekah's wishes."
"I'm sure she did. Katherine takes pleasure in making others uncomfortable." He stated. "Though you should know that I wasn't informed of my sister's plans for this dance nor that she and the rest of my family expected you to dance with me."
"It's as if they assume that because we live together that I am your plus one." Caroline acknowledged.
"Regardless of what they assume, I can't say that I am disappointed with the arrangements, if it means I get to hold you like this." Klaus declared boldly as he moved them around the dance floor. He tilted his head towards her, decreasing the small amount of distance between them so that his mouth was right next to her ear. "And have the chance to tell you how beautiful you look. Absolutely breathtaking."
Caroline's breath caught at his words, before she turned her gaze away. Instead, she tried to focus on anything but him. Her eyes landed on the twins who were at the head table with their cousins who were dressed in similar clothes. "Henry and Lexi look utterly adorable. I don't think Rebekah could have chosen a prettier dress for Lexi. And she loved the trip to the salon."
She heard Klaus grumble a bit at her words. "Yes, something else my sister did not speak to me about."
His complaint brought a smile to her face and she relaxed a little. "Henry isn't happy though, thankfully it looks like the cake has distracted him."
"He tried to strip out of his clothes the moment the photographer dismissed us but I managed to stop him before he could get too far." Klaus told her as he followed her gaze and looked over at his children. They were smiling, and laughing with Sarah, Connor and Noah. His eyes went back to Caroline's and for a moment he just watched her watching his twins, the love she felt for them unmistakable in her expression. "About what you told me the other night, it doesn't matter to me. It doesn't change me wanting to be with you."
Caroline snapped her eyes away from the twins to look back at Klaus, her body coming to a halt as what he said hit her. Her sudden stop caused Finn and Sage to almost bump into them but Klaus was able to pull her out of the way at the last minute. She quickly recovered and managed to fall back in step with him.
Her thoughts were racing at what he had said. Had he really said that he still wanted to be with her? Despite what she had told him? Could this really be true? He watched her as the questions ran through her mind and she tried to find the words to say to him. "Are you sure? I mean, have you really thought about what it means?"
"It's all I've been thinking about from the moment you told me." Klaus admitted. "I know you think that things can't work out for us because of it, because you assume that I want to have more kids. I'll be honest I have always thought that if I could have more children I would. But if I have to make a choice between that or you, I choose you, Caroline."
All she could see in his eyes was the truth; everything he was saying was spoken with complete honesty. Caroline felt tears coming to her eyes. This was not how she thought things would go even if a part of her had hoped for it. She had resigned herself last night to giving them up, instead he was handing them to her on a silver platter. Could she really do this? Be with him?
"And now the question is, do you choose me? Choose us?" He asked as he watched the emotions flit through her eyes behind her unshed tears.
Caroline tried to find the words to say to him but couldn't. Instead, she pursed her lips and nodded her answer. She watched as a smile broke out on his face. He leaned forward as if to kiss her when the song ended and everyone around them suddenly stopped dancing. It made them remember where they were at and while she figured he wouldn't let that stop him, he did move back a step, though he didn't lose his smile. "As much as I want to kiss you, my sister would cut out my heart with her cake knife if I stole the attention away from her by doing that. Not to mention what a shock it would be to the twins."
She nodded in agreement. "We should wait until we get home, sort things out after the twins are down."
"Agreed." Klaus said and she noticed his eyes took a mischievous glint them. "So we'll get them together and head out now?"
Caroline slapped his chest lightly. "If you are trying not to piss off your sister, I don't think disappearing right now is such a good idea. We can wait a little longer."
"I will wait as long as I have to, but that doesn't mean I want to." Klaus told her.
She couldn't help the smile on her face at his words, he almost sounded like Henry when the boy pouted when not getting his way. She looked back at the dance floor and saw that some of the couples were still dancing while others had headed back to the table. "You should probably head back to the table before Henry gorges on so much sugar he'll never go to sleep."
"Perhaps we could share another dance later?" Klaus asked.
Caroline smiled teasingly. "Maybe, it depends on how many other people ask."
"I'll have to make sure to scare them away." He stated. He winked at her before turning and heading back towards Henry and Lexi.
Caroline watched him go and noticed Katherine and Sage had been watching the two of them with interest. She tried not to give anything away before she moved back to her seat. Bonnie was already back in her spot but Elena was still dancing with Damon.
"Those two look awfully cozy don't they?" Sage commented to her sister-in-law as she watched Caroline and Niklaus part and go their separate ways. She looked over and saw Katherine's signature cat ate the canary smile.
"Yes, they do." The brunette replied. "Which is surprising considering how much Caroline seemed to fight the idea of the two of them dancing when I spoke to her earlier."
"In any case they seem to have gotten over whatever it was." Sage declared. "There is obviously something going on between the two of them, I'm just not sure exactly what."
"They are both so stubborn." Katherine observed. "Someone needs to lock them up in a room and see what happens."
Sage's lips curled up suddenly, mimicking the smile that Katherine had earlier. "I don't know about locking them in the same room, but I think I have an idea that might work just as well."
The rest of the reception seemed to fly by for Caroline. She actually didn't end up dancing with Klaus again instead she danced with Stefan, Damon, and Kol despite Klaus' teasing of scaring away any other dance partners. Klaus himself had danced with his sister, as well as Sage, Katherine, and even Lexi who seemed over the moon at dancing with her dad. Caroline found it interesting that despite her protests at the beginning of the evening, Bonnie seemed not to mind dancing with Kol much. In fact, except for the brief dance that she shared with him, Bonnie was in his arms whenever a slow song was on. Anything she could do to keep her focus off of what was going on after the wedding, otherwise her huge smile would make her friend suspicious.
After more than half of the guests had left, and while Elena was dancing with Damon, Caroline tried to get her friend's thoughts on Kol but stopped when Klaus approached their table. She looked up at him with a small grin. "Hey."
"Caroline. Bonnie." He greeted with a nod to her friend before turning back to the blonde who was his reason for coming over. "I know you came with your friends but I thought I might give you a ride home?"
Bonnie looked at her with raised eyebrows in question but Caroline just nodded to Klaus. "Yeah, sure. If you are ready to go now, I'll meet you and the twins at the coat check."
"Actually the twins won't be coming home with us; according to Sage they conspired with their cousins to arrange to spend the night at their house. So it will just be the two of us."
Caroline couldn't help but gulp at the news, they would be completely alone for the night. She tried not to let the nervousness show in her voice as she replied. "Okay."
"I'll just say goodbye to my family and we will be off." Klaus replied.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Bonnie pounced. "I think you left something out about that dance you two shared."
Caroline shrugged. "Maybe a little. Look, I don't want to say anything until I talk to him but I'll tell you later all about it okay?"
"I'm holding you to that."
"I have no doubt that you will." Caroline responded before she smirked at the person coming up behind her friend. "But it looks like you are going to be dealing with a Mikaelson man of your own tonight."
She gave Bonnie a quick good-bye hug before she stood and escaped the table, leaving Kol with her friend and headed to the coat check. The attendant had just handed her coat to her when Klaus came up behind her. He retrieved his as well before leading her out to his car.
As they got into the car, Caroline barely noticed the cold interior due to how extremely nervous she was feeling. She wasn't reconsidering the answer she had given Klaus, it was more the type of nervousness one felt when they were about to start something new, which it was.
Klaus reached over and placed his hand over one of hers and squeezed reassuringly. She looked up and saw a small smile on his lips though he was focused on the road ahead. She knew then that he had picked up on her mindset and had wanted to try and calm her down. However while his gesture had calmed her down a little, his touch had done something else entirely. The warmth of hand on her cold one had sent heat up her arm and throughout her body causing the tension in the car to switch from nervous anticipation to something not so innocent. She shivered a little and she could tell by the way his smile grew, he knew it wasn't from the chill.
After parking the car, they hurried into the house and out of the chill. They had barely shut the door when Klaus pulled her towards him and closed his lips over Caroline's. The kiss was fiery and passionate. His arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly against his body. Even though she was frozen into place in surprise, her body reacted quickly. She kissed him back, with the same amount of urgency and need, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt Klaus swipe his tongue over her bottom lip but he was not asking for entrance, he was demanding it.
His mouth molded over hers hard and persuasive, parting her lips with the thrust of his tongue as he ravished her mouth with his. She felt herself weaken from the spiraling pleasure that poured through her, and she clung to his broad shoulders for support. Then as soon as it began, Klaus ended the kiss and pulled back, smiling at her. "I've been wanting to do that since I first saw you tonight."
Although she felt like she had been smiling a lot at him all night, she couldn't help as a new one spread across her face. "I'm not complaining one bit. But…"
"We should probably discuss a few things?" Klaus finished. When Caroline nodded apologetically, he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "How about you get out of your coat while I go get us a bottle of wine or maybe champagne? Then we can sort out things."
"Sounds good." Caroline agreed.
Klaus reluctantly released her from his arms and headed towards the kitchen to retrieve the promised bottle and a couple of glasses, shrugging out of his coat as he did. Caroline watched him go before turning and heading into the living room, removing her own long coat before putting it away. She turned on a couple of lights and started the fireplace as she waited for him to come back. She heard his heavy footsteps returning a moment later.
"Caroline? What is this?" She heard Klaus ask. She turned around to see what he was talking about and saw the letter she had typed up the night before, opened and obviously read, the one she had completely forgotten about.
dun dun dun
Well guys? What did you think? I know I left this with a cliffhanger but I swear, this part was for real and not a dream or anything but what it appears to be. And I won't be ripping the two of them apart again, the letter just helps them deal with some issues that need to be discussed.
What do you think will happen now? What do you think his reaction is going to be to the letter? Caroline has some explaining to do. And what will the two of them do now that they are alone for the night?