AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello Lovelies! How are we today? Are you surprised that I'm updating this soon? Well I had this part done so I figured I wouldn't make you wait.

I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the smut in the last part, it was fun to write.

Thanks to a-little-blonde-distraction, klarolineepiclove, and cecevolume for their wonderful betaing skills!

Part 36

As Klaus walked back into the living room, he couldn't help but smirk a little at the sight in front of him. Caroline was seated in the middle of one of the couches, with her laptop, surrounded by enough paper that it probably amounted to a small tree at some point. She had been working all night; well to be accurate she'd been working them since they had first decided to go, on plans for their upcoming trip with the twins 'helping' when she asked for it.

"For future reference, we should probably show Henry and Lexi anything to do with the trip after dinner instead of before bedtime."

Caroline didn't look up but a smile did appear on her face. "I'm guessing they were a little excitable?"

"That would be an understatement." He declared.

"Okay, maybe giving them the sharpies and the maps was a little bit too much before they were supposed to go down for the night, but I wanted them to feel like they were helping with the planning." Caroline explained. Ever since they had announced to the twins about the trip, they had been constantly talking about things they wanted to see and do though there was really only a handful of things that they actually knew about.

Therefore, Caroline went online, printed out maps and let the kids go to town on them. However, it ended up becoming much more than busy work for them. "We would have gotten done with it earlier but every time they saw something on the map that they might like they wanted to know more about it so then we looked it up on the computer."

"I think Henry listed every single animal he wanted to see while Lexi went on about meeting fairies and princesses, something about how she thought that she couldn't wait to see Rapunzel's hair but that she was sure that Cinderella was going to be the prettiest."

Caroline laughed when she saw the look on his face after repeating his daughter's words. She knew that Klaus would do anything for his children but she had a feeling that standing in line with a bunch of young girls to meet princesses might be his limit. "Don't worry, I'll take her for the princess and fairy meets. You and Henry can amuse yourself some other way."

Klaus could see the spark of excitement behind her eyes at her statement. "You say that as if you are doing me a favor but I believe you are as excited at that idea as she will be."

"Maybe," She answered truthfully. "I might be a grown woman but I still remember wanting to be a princess when I was little. I always wanted to go when I was a kid but my parents could never take me. I considered once just me and my girlfriends going down but we just never went."

"Well now you have the opportunity." He stated. "And if how much work you've been putting in is any indication, it looks like we are going to have a spectacular time."

"I hope so." Caroline replied, as she began to chew on her lip nervously. "There is just so much to plan. There are the parks, which have a bazillion rides, shows, and experiences to do. I want to make sure that the kids don't miss anything that they want to do or miss out on the must dos. And then, there are the water parks, shopping areas, restaurants reservations, magical experiences and that's after I narrow down the flights and find a hotel from among the dozens of hotels that they have. I think we could literally stay there a month and still miss something."

"Sweetheart, we don't have to do everything that is offered. It's not expected." Klaus said as he moved a few things so he could sit next her. "All of the activities are there so that the visitors and their families feel like they miss something and are lured back."

"I know but this trip to Disney is a big thing for the twins." Caroline argued. "They are so excited."

"I understand but that doesn't mean you have to plan every second of our stay." He replied, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"I want it to be perfect for them." She whispered. "It's not just because it's their first trip, but it's also because of what we are planning to tell them."

"Caroline…" Klaus said in understanding. "Everything will be fine. You're putting unnecessary pressure on yourself and if things don't go according to plan when we go down there, I don't want the stress to keep you from enjoying the trip."

Caroline opened her mouth to argue but realized that he had a point. She smiled feeling a little self-conscious. "Okay, I admit sometimes I do go a bit overboard. I mean, I'm normally an obsessively structured person, it's one of the reasons I'm so good at my job and organizing stuff at the gym; this trip makes me seem like a neurotic control freak on crack."

He couldn't help but laugh a little at her statement. "I would not go that far, love, but I think we just need to dial things back a bit. I can take over if you prefer?"

"No." Caroline snapped hurriedly. "I mean, you don't have to do that. I'll just focus on getting us there, finding a place to sleep, and a couple of things to do that we have to set up ahead of time. Then just wing the rest. I've got most of that decided on anyways."

"Then how about you put it away for tonight?" Klaus asked. "So that I may have the pleasure of your undivided attention. After all your father and Stephen will be here in a couple of days and your attention will be on them"

"I want to show you something first." She replied glancing over at him. He had a slight pout on his lips at the idea of being put off, something he wasn't used to. Over the last couple of weeks, after the twins went to bed, the two of them would spend the rest of the evening together. It's what they called their 'dates'. They would sit together in the formal dining room, having dessert or even a late dinner if he worked late, or sometimes they'd watch a movie together. Most of the time they would just spend the time talking, about anything and everything. "Because if you like it, I'm going to book it, and then I'm all yours."

"Have at it love." He said, motioning to her laptop. She beamed at him before moving so she could lean back into him, snuggling into him while enabling him to see the screen as well.

"Okay, since you said you wanted us to get a suite instead of two rooms, I had to go with one of the bigger hotels. I couldn't get one near Magic Kingdom because of it being last minute, but I found one at Epcot, the Disney Beach Club. It has everything; a two bedroom suite with an additional sofa bed…."

"That we aren't going to need after the first night once we tell them about us." Klaus interrupted. "The twins are aware that people who are in a relationship sleep in the same bed at times, after all they traveled often with Stefan and Rebekah before they were married."

"Are you sure that won't be uncomfortable?" Caroline asked.

"We will of course determine it for sure when it happens but it's not as if they believe that we will be doing anything in the bed aside from sleeping." He explained.

She nodded in understanding though she still wasn't completely sure of it. "Anyways, the hotel is beautiful and has everything. They have transportation from the airport, and around the resort. There's also a playground, a couple of kick ass pools including a wave pool and beach! They have bonfires and pirate cruises."

"Pirate cruises?"

"Yep, and guess what?" Caroline asked, a teasing sound in her voice before she leaned towards his lips, planting a soft kiss on them before answering her own question. "No parents allowed."

"Really?" Klaus replied.

Caroline nodded flirtatiously. "Hmmnn. It's called the Sand Castle Club. It's a full evening of supervised kids' activities."

"That sounds like something we should definitely tell the twins about." He stated, as he closed the distance between them and caught her lower lip between his.

She returned his kiss for a moment before pulling away enough to finish what she was saying. "Henry is actually the one that found it and after he showed it to Lexi, they started begging to be able to do it. So I thought since they were insisting so eagerly, you wouldn't have a problem with spending one night away from them."

"I suppose we could indulge them one night. But whatever will we do with ourselves?" Klaus asked, his voice and question sounding innocent when she could see his eyes meant anything but.

"Oh, I'm sure we will find something." She replied thoughtfully. "I was actually thinking that maybe I could arrange dinner or something before we engage in our favorite indoor activity."

"Sounds like an excellent plan to be." He praised.

Caroline's face lit up with a smile. "Great. I'll get it booked right now!"

Before he could blink, Klaus found her lips gone and instead his eyes were now focused on the back of her head as she turned back to her computer. He watched as Caroline quickly put in all of the information that the website needed, as well as the one that had all of their flight information. "Just charge everything to the credit card you have of mine, if you haven't already."

"That's what I was planning to do with the tickets for the three of you, both flight and park…"

"The three of us?" Klaus repeated confused. Why was she talking as if she was only booking things for he and the twins? This was a trip for the four of them after all.

"Yes, I'll just put mine on my card and I'll give you the money for my part of the hotel since it will be booked under one reservation." She explained.

"Why would you do that?" He asked. "When I'm the one who will be paying for everything?"

"Um, because you're not?" Caroline replied. "This is my vacation too; I don't expect you to shell out my part too."

"But there is no need. I am more than happy to pay for the trip, for all of us." Klaus insisted. "I told you that before."

"Fine, but this isn't Barbados. Then it was okay, but now it wouldn't be right."

"How is it different?" Klaus inquired. "I mean you are accompanying us on vacation as a guest."

"Maybe but I'm going as your girlfriend, not your employee." Caroline declared as she was starting to go from bemused to annoyed and a bit angry. "There's a big difference."

"Yes, there is. I'm not saying that the circumstances that you are going aren't different, because they are vastly but that doesn't mean that I can't be the one to pay for the trip still. The money isn't a problem." He explained.

"But I don't need you to pay for me." Caroline insisted.

"I'm not saying that you do, but did you think that maybe I want to?" Klaus asked. "Men do enjoy buying gifts for the women in their lives."

"This is a little more than a gift Klaus. A gift is perfume, flowers or I don't know a book you see and think I'll like not a freaking all expense paid trip!" She exclaimed. "Especially when I have plenty of money to pay my own way."

"Which means either way, I'm funding the trip so why shouldn't I just pay directly for it?"

Caroline stared at him, her mouth falling open in shock at his words. The small ember of anger that had been building inside her as they started arguing now roared to an inferno. "You did not just say that."

There was no missing the sudden rage in her eyes at what he had said. He hadn't meant it the way that it had sounded; it had just come out. "Sweetheart…."

"Don't…just don't." She snapped. She scooted away from him on the couch and started to gather up the stuff lying around, slamming them into a pile a little harder than what was probably necessary but she didn't care. She was upset and if she didn't take her anger out on inanimate objects, she might explode. "This isn't up for discussion."

Klaus saw her retreat from him and followed her across the couch. "Caroline…calm down."

When she felt his fingers reach out for her, Caroline snatched her arm away. "No, you don't get to tell me to calm down."

"I didn't mean that to sound like it did." Klaus declared.

"Then what did you mean for it to sound like? Because I know what I heard." She shouted as she stood up. "And you know what? My salary might have come from your pocket but I earned it by doing my job."

"I never said you didn't." He argued. "Don't put words in my mouth simply to stroke your fury."

"I don't have to because you're good at doing that on your own." She fired back.

"Bloody hell Caroline!" Klaus exclaimed. "I'm trying to make things right but you're being so stubborn and refuse to listen. You're acting like one of the twins in a tantrum."

As the allegation tumbled from his lips, Caroline brought her hands up to in front of her face, her fingers pressed together. She took a deep breath before picking up her laptop and heading out of the room. "I can't be here right now, I can't talk to you."

Klaus moved to follow her but stopped. If he followed her, their argument would continue and more than likely escalate to the point that the twins would hear them. That wasn't something he wanted, yet he also didn't want things to stay as they were with Caroline. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, feeling out of control of the situation and he hated that feeling.

/

A couple of hours later, Caroline made her way back down the stairs. Her fury at him had tempered some but she was still upset. However, she knew she couldn't stay hidden away in her room, avoiding him. Well she could but she knew that wasn't the right way to go about things. True, she had run away from the argument to begin with, which wasn't like her. Normally it was the other person who left, she preferred to the direct approach when dealing with arguments.

She looked for him where she'd left him, but he wasn't in the living room. She wasn't surprised; she thought he might have retreated to his studio so she headed back up the stairs. When she reached the door to his studio, she found it slightly ajar. She hesitated for a minute, wondering if that was a sign that he didn't want company but she ended up knocking anyways. If he didn't want to talk to her, then he should have shut the door completely though it probably wouldn't have stopped her either.

"Come in Caroline." He called out to her.

"I wasn't sure if you would answer my knock considering the way I stormed off." She said as she entered. He was standing in front of one of the tables, most likely having been working on something but was turned towards her now.

"In view of the fact that you knocked and didn't stomp in here yelling at me, I figured that I was safe." Klaus replied. "Besides, I find I don't like arguing with you."

Caroline smiled a little at him as he made his way towards her. His gait was as assertive as ever while his eyes met hers without hesitation, both of which surprised her. In the past, whenever one of her exes and her had argued, they always acted sheepish when approaching her regardless of who had started the argument. She knew it was always their way of getting on her good side, Klaus however didn't seem to feel the need to indulge her. Something she found refreshing. "Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of it either."

"I wanted to follow you earlier, but I thought it might not be the best of ideas."

"Probably not a bad one." She said with a shrug. "I don't ordinarily run away from arguments, but I needed to get away from you. Otherwise things probably would have gotten very ugly. I have a bit of a temper."

"I've noticed that is something we have in common." Klaus commented.

"Sweetheart, what I said…"

"It stung." She interrupted.

"I'm sure it did."

"It brought up some insecurities I've been feeling." Caroline confessed.

"About us?" Klaus asked.

"No, not about us." She assured him. "More what people think about us."

"Who cares what people think about us?"

"I do. I mean, I want to say that it won't bother me. That I know and you know that I'm not with you because of your money but when we start letting people know about us, money is going to be one of the reasons they think I'm with you whether it's because you have some or because I'm working for you.

"I don't like the idea of people thinking that I'm some gold digger. Or worse."

"Worse?"

"I'm on your payroll and I'm sleeping with you; that's pretty much most people's definition of a whore." Caroline declared.

"Caroline, you are not a whore and anyone who is idiotic enough to think that is worth worrying about." Klaus growled.

She could hear the anger in his voice, anger not directed at her but at those who might speak ill of her and she couldn't help but feel a little pleased at his reaction but she pushed it to the side to focus on why she had come to talk to him.

"Maybe but I will still be aware that some will think that. I've accepted that it's going to happen but when you talked about paying my way, it just kind of hit that sensitive spot in me and I snapped. I felt like some kind of 'kept' woman or something."

"I didn't intend for you to feel like that." Klaus explained.

"I know that now and I knew it then, I just let my insecurities get in the way." She admitted.

"This is something we are going to have to deal with Caroline, because I'm going to be buying you gifts or paying for things from time to time. I enjoy spoiling those I care about and I think you deserve everything the world has to offer." He stated. "So I'm not going to stop trying to give it to you."

Again, Caroline was torn in her feelings towards what he said, a part of her still felt uneasy at the idea of him spending money on her while the other side of her loved the fact that he thought she was worth spoiling. "There needs to be limits Klaus."

"Such as the sky?" He teased causing her to bring her hands up to whack him but he grabbed her hands before they could land on his chest. He brought them up to his face before brushing his lips across her knuckles. "Am I forgiven?"

"Only if I am." Caroline replied knowing he was no longer talking about giving her gifts but what was said during their argument.

Klaus nodded in response before he used his hold on her hands to pull her closer. As he did, Caroline took advantage of his proximity to kiss him. It was tentative and gentle, as if she was searching to see if things really were resolved between them. He pressed his lips firmly against hers to answer her question.

After a few minutes of kissing him, Caroline broke the kiss, and leaned her forehead against his. She needed more, not necessarily sex but more of him. "Stay with me tonight…"

He looked into her eyes, as if to confirm what her words were saying. They had gotten into the routine of retiring to his room whenever they wanted to be intimate, due to the fact that it was farther away from the twins' rooms. Caroline's room was just too close if things got…loud. "I'm not sure that is the best idea considering the twins."

"I don't mean sleep with me, just sleep next to me." Caroline explained. "We can set the alarm to make sure that we are awake before they wake up, I just want to feel you next to me."

"Well then, how could I possibly say no?" Klaus answered.

Once the lights were all turned off and the house was secure for the night, Caroline led Klaus to her bedroom. She shut the door securely behind them before moving to get her pajamas. "I'll be right back."

She slipped into her bathroom to change and pull her hair back in a ponytail before making her way back out. She found him already in her bed, she could see the pile of his clothes at the foot of her bed and knew that he was down to only his boxers if he wore anything at all. He had pulled back the covers pulled back to invite her to join him. The sight of him in her bed made her heart beat a little faster, not in just desire though she felt that too but due to the intimacy of the idea of just sleeping next to him.

Klaus watched her make her way towards him, dressed in skimpy night clothes that did nothing to hide her body from his gaze, before he held his hand out to her. She took it readily before climbing in alongside him. They settled into a comfortable position, he on his back, her curled against his chest. Neither of them spoke, just simply enjoyed being close to the other one.

Just before she felt herself giving into sleep, she felt his lips brush her forehead lightly before whispering. "Good night love."

Well they got past their first argument. What did you think?

Next part will be Bill and Stephen's visit.