AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies, here we are, the end of their Disney trip. I know many have loved it while some have thought I focused too much on it however I used the trip to hit on a few things, such as Lexi's attitude towards Klaroline, Klaroline getting used to being in public together, their first date as well as well as a few other topics. It was longer than I thought it would be but after this part it's done and we move onto reality.
As for the smut, I'm glad that you all enjoyed it. We all like sweet smut sometimes hot and fast smut is fun too right? And I hope the double smut will make up for the lack of it in the next few parts.
Thanks to klarolineepiclove, approvesomuch, a-little-blonde-distraction and jomosfamilyjewels for their betaing as well as for the push they gave me when I was doubting myself on this part, and a thanks to MarsterRoo and idiot-wind89 for the same push.
Part 43
"Guys, I'm still not sure about this," Caroline announced as she looked at the large imposing building in front of them. "Why don't you go ahead and I'll wait out here?"
"Caroline…" Lexi grumbled as they suddenly ground to a halt outside of the gates of the ride. "Come on."
"Seriously guys, this way you can both ride with your dad." She said, trying to use something positive to distract them from her unwillingness to go. "I'll get something to drink and look at the little shops maybe."
"Why don't you want to ride with us? You have done everything else we asked you to." Lexi asked.
Caroline couldn't argue with her there. Over the last several days she and Klaus both had ridden every ride or done every experience that the twins had asked them to so she could understand why they might give her a hard time now. "It has nothing to do with not wanting to ride with you; this just isn't my kind of ride. I don't do well with haunted houses."
"You rode Tower of Terror and it's a haunted house." Henry debated. "Well a haunted hotel."
"That was different, on that ride the focus is the falling elevator, and we barely saw the ghosts." She stated before she looked back up at the gothic manor with its tall spires and imposing gates, it rubbed her the wrong way.
She had been able to avoid the ride the other day when they had visited the Magic Kingdom due to it being closed for the day but now that it was reopened, it seemed like her luck ran out on their last day.
After spending all week cruising through each park from Animal Kingdom to Epcot, they decided to end their vacation at what Caroline thought was the best of the four parks, and where they had started their trip, the Magic Kingdom. The vacation had been great, tons of fun and a magical experience. Granted it hadn't been all smiles and laughs the whole time, the kids had had couple of meltdowns; Henry had almost gotten lost once, and her and Klaus had even gotten into a couple of spats as well but overall the trip had been a success.
"I doubt that they will have anything in there that resembles the haunted houses that you are used to." Klaus professed when he saw Caroline jump slightly after a loud mournful howl pierced the air. "After all, this is supposed to be a ride for the entire family."
"Yeah, look." Lexi said as she pointed to some people coming out of the ride. "Those kids look like they would match Daniel or Sarah's ages and they are laughing. It can't be that scary."
"We don't know if their parents covered their eyes or if maybe they are just really jaded." Caroline replied.
"Please Caroline, you said only one more ride before we had to go find a spot for the parade and we really want to ride this." Henry pleaded, as he slipped his small hand into hers. She looked down at their joined hands then back up to his very serious expression. "I'll ride with you maybe that will help you not be scared?"
Klaus smiled at his son and then his girlfriend. "That sounds like a fantastic idea to me, and quite nice of you to offer Henry. I should have thought to do that."
Henry just shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry Dad, I got to her first. You can protect Lexi since you're riding with her."
"As if I need protecting!" Lexi declared boldly. "But I guess if I had to have one, Dad is a good choice."
"You sound so confident of that sweetheart, thank you." Klaus mocked.
Lexi could tell her dad was playing with her and not really hurt by what she said but she still wanted to make sure. She hugged him hard as she said, "Yes, I am. Because you are the strongest person ever."
"And don't forget it." Klaus said and hugged his daughter back, before looking at Henry. "I'm sure Caroline will feel safer with a protector by her side."
"Um, yeah. I mean, yes I do." Caroline answered. "Thank you sweetie."
Henry's face lit up with a smile as he began to pull her ahead. "Great. Let's go."
Henry dragged Caroline forward as Lexi and Klaus followed through the gates until they came to a fork in the line where a woman dressed in a black and gray maid's uniform stood directing people. "Line to the right to expedite your tour of the mansion or if you would like to visit our graveyard first, to the left."
When the group steered her to the left, Caroline just shook her head, muttering under breath. "Yes, let's visit the graveyard because that's not a little creepy."
Klaus couldn't help but smirk at her words, causing her to scowl a little at him. Once they were on the path through the graveyard and Caroline was sufficiently trapped, Henry let go of her hand to check out one of the nearby collection of stone busts on top of tombstones with his sister.
"Are you going to share why you hate haunted houses so much?" Klaus asked. "Have you always hated them?"
"No, not always. I actually kind of got a kick out of them until my junior year of high school." Caroline explained. "Every year the high school would have this big party slash haunted house in the gym and that year the as…umm, jerks from the football team decided they were going to pull a prank. Long story short, it scared the living daylights out of me and I've hated haunted houses ever since."
"I hope that they were punished."
"They were though considering it was football season, not very harshly. A lot of parents, like my mom or Elena's, were very upset that they got off so easily." She replied before a huge smile came across her face. "The number of speeding and traffic tickets for the team did spike though significantly in the weeks after."
"I think I understand where you get your shrewdness from." Klaus said with a laugh.
"Of course, Mom always though justice should be served, and when it's not, don't get mad, get even." Caroline explained as they passed two tombstones and came up to a large stone crypt with musical instruments carved into the sides.
The twins ran their fingers over the instruments and giggled excitedly when they heard music playing when they touched them, as if the horns or harps were actually playing, that is until Lexi approached the end of the crypt where she found what looked like an old-fashioned pipe organ. When she pressed on a couple of the keys, water and mist sprayed out at her, which of course made her laugh harder and Henry to come and see what she was up to. The two continued to play the keys until their father moved them on. They were upset until they discovered another way to get wet when they came to the watery crypt of a sea captain and saw that there was water squirting out of various holes and cracks where they could get even wetter.
By the time they had moved around the graveyard, Caroline was feeling a little more at ease with the idea of going on the ride. At least until the large doors opened and a pale looking man dressed in a full old fashioned butler's costume stood there, with a somber face. "Welcome to the Haunted Mansion, please follow the blood red carpet into the Foyer."
Caroline gulped a little but said nothing as they walked inside. The hallway they walked down not only had the red carpeting but dark and gloomy walls only lit by old-fashioned lamps. There were also various portraits that looked normal until you stared at them for a minute and the subjects of them turned into skeletons. Henry and Lexi seemed to enjoy them, even though Caroline did not. They kept walking until they reached the end of the hall where it dumped them into a large roundish room with more portraits along the walls.
"Please drag all bodies to the dead center of the room." The butler announced wickedly.
"Oh, he's hilarious." Caroline commented sarcastically as they moved with the other people inside. She had a bad feeling about the room, more so when the wall slid shut and they were effectively trapped. As the ominous voice of the 'Ghost Host' began his spiel, she looked around to make sure that both of the kids were still next to her and Klaus was behind her, just in case. Of course if she had known when the lights went out and the lightning lit up the ceiling to display the hanging man above them that Klaus would laugh when she jumped, she wouldn't have bothered with him.
"Stop laughing." She snapped. "It isn't funny."
"No, you're right." Klaus said as he continued to snicker on their way out of the room. "Sorry love."
"It's okay, Caroline. I'll protect you." Henry declared as he took her hand again like he did out front before he glared at his dad.
"Well at least one of you is being a gentleman." Caroline replied as she took up Henry's hand and they made their way to the conveyor belt that would take them to the ride, leaving Lexi and Klaus behind them.
The ride itself was kind of scary, but nothing jumped out and grabbed her so that was a plus in her book, not to mention Henry held her hand the whole time. The graveyard scene was very spooky but she thought the ballroom was amazing especially considering that she couldn't figure out how they'd done the illusion. At the end, she was laughing as Henry tried to poke and pinch their ghost hitchhiker. When they exited, she felt kind of silly for her overreaction.
"Alright, I'll admit it; it wasn't that bad or scary. Especially since I had my protector with me." Caroline admitted as she winked at Henry, who in turn gave her a huge smile. "So who's ready to go watch the parade?"
/
The four of them watched as the last glowing float disappeared around the corner. The calliope music was still playing but the surrounding lighting came up now that the Electrical Light Parade was over and Caroline looked over to the three of them. "That was amazing, all of the lights, it was like Christmas."
Lexi nodded enthusiastically. "Did you see Cinderella wave at us? I think she remembered us from our first day."
"And why wouldn't she?" Klaus replied, encouraging her fantasy even if he was almost positive that the princess in the glowing pumpkin carriage they had seen was a different Cinderella than the one that his daughter had met. "What did you think Henry?"
"I loved it." Henry exclaimed. "The pirate ship was my favorite."
"Really?" Klaus asked surprised. "I would have thought that the turtle or the dragon would have been."
His son shook his head. "No way, the pirate ship was awesome. Peter Pan and Hook were sword fighting!"
Caroline laughed as Henry whipped his hand around as he imitated the dual he had just witnessed. "So aren't you glad that we got these spots? If you hadn't you might not have been able to get such a good view."
"I guess." He answered, obviously trying not to show that she and his father had been right about scouting out a spot to sit quite a bit before the parade had actually started. Neither of the twins had been enthusiastic at the idea of sitting there while they knew that rides were nearby but all of their irritation had disappeared when the first float went by.
"What was your favorite part, love?" Klaus asked her.
"Hmmm, I don't know." She replied thoughtfully. "They were all beautiful, though none of them were quite like Tarzan was in the earlier parade."
She couldn't help but laugh at the scowl on his face as he too remembered the very fit, very good looking man who rode past them on an elephant wearing only a loin cloth. When he had caught her staring at him, according to him with her mouth hanging open, he had attempted to cover her eyes but she had won out in the end and did plenty of ogling of the wild man.
"How long until the fireworks?" Lexi asked interrupting them.
Caroline glanced at her phone before answering. "About twenty minutes."
Henry's face lit up at his answer. "Can we get a snack? Please?"
"Do we even need to ask what you want? Because I would guess it would be another one of those Mouse head shaped ice creams that you've been indulging in whenever possible." Klaus joked though his statement was accurate. They had discovered that Henry had the ability to find the closest ice cream store or cart whenever they had decided to treat themselves to something cool and sweet. Henry was partial to the Mickey head shaped Ice Cream bars while Lexi had tried something different every time. He didn't always get something for himself but Caroline did, usually one of the fruit bars but also something chocolate now and again.
His son just nodded his head before he pointed towards the treat cart that was a ways down the walkway from their seat. "Please? It's our last night and I just want one more."
"If we go and get it, we are going to lose our spot to watch the fireworks because I'm sure everyone wants something, unless one of us would be willing to get up and brave their way down to get something for everyone." Klaus stated, motioning with his head to Caroline.
Caroline looked up from her phone when she suddenly got the feeling of eyes on her and was met with two sets of puppy dog eyes looking at her while Lexi hid a grin behind her hand. "As if I could say no to those pathetic faces."
"Hey love, no need to be harsh." Klaus teased with a laugh. "We just want to indulge our sweet tooth and not all of us can go. As you pointed out earlier, our seats here are prime real estate and someone will take them if we get up."
"So why must I be the one to get it? Why can't you?" Caroline replied.
"Well these people might get a little aggressive and it would be best if I stayed to defend our territory." He explained with a smile, earning him a roll of her beautiful blue eyes.
Once she enlisted Lexi to come help carry back their snacks, Caroline stood up and headed towards the snack cart down the ways. To be truthful, she didn't mind running the errand, it gave her a chance to stretch her legs after sitting for so long. Considering how much they had been on their feet, sitting for long periods of time was becoming a foreign concept.
It wasn't long before Caroline and Lexi were laden down with goodies and headed back to where the guys sat just as the lights were beginning to lower again for the fireworks. When Henry spotted them returning, he hopped up and reached for what was his. "Yes!"
As he began to plow through his Mickey Bar, a woman next to them looked at him and smiled. "You really are enjoying that aren't you?"
Henry only nodded as he bit off the other ear of the bar and the woman laughed. "It was nice of your mom to get up and get that for you."
Caroline and Klaus looked at each other for a moment; they had run into occurrences like this several times over the trip but the comments had never been said to one of the kids directly. However Henry just swallowed his ice cream before he said, "She's not my mom."
"Oh," The woman replied with a blush.
"But I'm hoping she'll take the job someday." He declared with a large grin before biting into his ice cream again.
Caroline almost choked on her strawberry bar at that moment but quickly recovered. She had heard the twins allude to them seeing her as a maternal figure but to hear him announce it to a complete stranger was something different. She felt Klaus' large hand on her back patting firmly but gently to help her but before anything could be said, the sky erupted.
*Boom*Boom*
*Boom*Boom*
"Caroline! Look Tinkerbell! She's flying, she's flying." Lexi cried out excitedly.
"I see her I see her." Caroline replied as they watched the fairy fly over their heads before the fireworks continued to explode though her thoughts really weren't on the show. They were on what Henry had said as well as what would happen next. She was almost dreading going back home the next day and facing the real world.
The two of them had just discussed the night before as they lay in bed together how best to go about telling people. They decided to start with his family and quickly follow it up with her telling Bonnie and Elena since the latter would surely find out quickly from Damon via Stefan. They had agreed to do it at the family dinner that Klaus was going to host the following weekend. He has assured her that they would be fine with the news, delighted even since several of them had boldly stated previously to supporting him if he had pursued her but she couldn't help but worry. It's what she did, she worried. Klaus' family was important to him and the twins and she didn't want to rock the boat by being with him. She really didn't know what she would do if there were issues, she was in too deep to think about doing the selfless thing and give them up.
As if sensing her anxiety, Caroline felt his warm breath in her ear, talking low but loud enough for her to hear. "Stop thinking so hard love, it will be fine."
She felt the tension leave her body at his promise and she turned her gaze up to enjoy the last bit of the fantasy before diving into reality.
/
When the loud ring of a phone jolted her awake, it took Caroline a moment to realize that she was no longer in the bed that her and Klaus had shared at Disney but his large bed at home. She looked around for the source of the noise and saw the offending object on the opposite night stand.
"Klaus...Klaus wake up." Caroline said as she shook him awake. She was surprised that he had been the one still asleep, considering the noise was right by his head.
"What?" Klaus grumbled sleepily, not even opening his eyes.
"Your phone, it's ringing." She answered, just as the noise stopped.
"No it's not." He retorted. "Go back to sleep."
However the words were barely out of his mouth when the noise from the phone erupted again. This time Klaus' eyes popped open and he rolled over to retrieve it. "Well whoever it is doesn't look to be giving up any time soon."
Caroline watched as he looked at the screen and frowned before answering it. "Kol, you are calling me at three o'clock in the morning on the night we just got back, you better not be drunk dialing or I will kill you."
With the noise of the phone quiet now, she rolled over to go back to sleep but halted immediately when Klaus suddenly sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "What?! When?!"
The panic in Klaus' voice sent adrenaline shooting through Caroline's body and she quickly sat up as well. She wanted so much to ask what was happening but she could tell by how one-sided the conversation was that he was getting details and it was best not to interrupt. After a few moments, Klaus spoke again. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
"What's going on?" Caroline asked as soon as he ended the call. "Was there an accident or something?"
"It's Katherine." Klaus answered causing Caroline to gasp. "Is she okay? Is the baby okay?"
"She's in labor." He answered as he stood and started moving around the room to search for clothes. The room was a mess due to the unpacked suitcases lying around but he was able to find a pair of jeans and a Henley quickly
"But she's not due for a few more weeks." Caroline stated as if he wasn't already aware of that fact.
"I know that love, it seems though that my brother's child has his mother's impatience and desire to make an entrance. She is at the hospital and they are trying to stop her labor if they can. Elijah is with her, Kol, Finn, and Rebekah are on their way." He explained as he put on his shoes and looked at her. "I need you to look after the twins."
Caroline nodded vigorously. "Of course, you don't even have to ask. Go, don't drive like a mad man, be careful."
"I will." Klaus replied before he leaned over, kissed her quickly on the lips and left.
After Klaus left, Caroline dozed a little as she tossed and turned in bed. She was tired but her mind was too busy thinking about Katherine, Elijah and their baby to allow her to sleep. Eventually she gave up and got out of bed. It was too early to wake the twins for school yet so she set about tackling the monstrous pile of laundry and other chores from vacation.
By mid-morning, Caroline was going nuts not knowing what was going on. Klaus had not called yet and when she had tried to contact him, she only received his voicemail. She knew that hospitals didn't get the best cell phone reception so she wasn't upset with him but she was dying of curiosity. The twins had been too tired at breakfast to notice and so she'd been able to get them off to school without a ton of questions. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer and headed to the hospital she knew that Katherine had been planning to go to.
Klaus rubbed his eyes tiredly as he walked outside for a breath of fresh air, after hours spent in the maternity waiting room drinking dreadful coffee and talking to his family. The first few hours had been catching up on what he had missed in his absence as well as their trip but as more time passed, everyone's anxiety was getting the better of them. They had been able to visit Katherine and Elijah in shifts but eventually they stopped when the doctors said that the stress of the visits were too much.
As he stood there, Klaus noticed a familiar head of blonde hair making her way towards him. "Caroline? What are you doing here?"
"I came to check on Katherine of course silly, and you." Caroline answered as she gave him a welcome kiss across his shocked mouth. "You were out so fast this morning, I thought you might want your laptop and a few other things while you wait, I figured you'd be bored out of your mind and want to get some work done."
"Close to it, thank you love." Klaus said gratefully as he took the bag from her.
"So how are things here? Since you haven't called or been home, I figured they haven't been able to stop the labor." She stated.
Klaus shook his head. "No, they tried but it wasn't successful. However the doctors assure Elijah that the baby is quite developed so the risk of being born now is small."
"So it looks like the newest Mikaelson will be making an appearance sooner rather than later." Caroline declared. "Why are you out here by yourself? Was the waiting room too full?"
"Kol and Finn left a couple of hours ago to go into the office; Sage is at home with their kids and Daniel so it's just been Stefan, Rebekah and me." Klaus answered. "I could have gone in but I didn't want to leave Elijah and Katherine in case they need me."
Caroline couldn't help but smile a little at the expression on his face, being an only child gave her no experience with having siblings herself but if she had, she hoped that her relationship with them was like Klaus and his family. "You know I don't think you ever told me how you and Katherine became so close. I mean I know she's Elijah's wife but considering…"
"The way things ended between Tatia and I?" Klaus finished for her. When Caroline nodded, he shrugged. "It just sort of happened we didn't really have a choice in the beginning; after all she was not only my brother's girlfriend but my girlfriend's sister so we were thrown together often. I didn't like her much when I first met her; she was loud, brash and less than tactful, which was the complete opposite of her sister. I didn't think she was the kind of girl that Elijah would go for but I think it is her personality that had him choosing her over Tatia. Once I got to know her a bit more, a friendship grew from there. However, it wasn't until Tatia left that our relationship evolved to what it is now. Katherine and Tatia were each other's only family and when Tatia left; she didn't just abandon me and the twins but also Katherine."
Caroline nodded in understanding. "She mentioned to me once that Tatia made her choice and so did she, that she chose Elijah and your family."
"Katherine threw herself into helping me with the twins until I was able to hire Ayanna as a full time nanny." Klaus explained. "She's always made it clear to me and them that she is there if we need her and I want to be there for her and Elijah as well."
"You might not be able to be upstairs with them but they know you're here and that probably means a lot to them." Caroline stated. "You can't control when the baby will be born."
"I hate feeling as if I am doing nothing."
"Well you're going to have to deal with it because what happens now is in the hands of two people, Katherine and that baby." Caroline declared. "And the doctors will help a little too."
Klaus couldn't help but laugh at her statement. "I guess you are right."
"Of course I am. Haven't you learned yet that I'm always right?" She teased him before she looped her arms around his neck.
"Now I wouldn't go that far." He replied before he leaned it to kiss her. It was a soft chaste kiss however his attention was so focused on her that he didn't notice the door behind them opening.
"Nik, Kol and Finn…" Klaus heard his sister saying before her words dropped off and he heard her gasp in surprise. "What the bloody hell!"
Well there you go, not even home one full day and the family drama starts! What do you think Rebekah is going to say?
Thank you for reading and please leave me a review to let me know what you think.