AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies, here is your update. I hope you enjoy it, I think you will ;) Sorry it took me so long to get it out, my birthday was this past Thursday and I haven't really had time to do much writing.

Reading everyone's reactions to the last part and their thoughts on what Caroline and Klaus should do is very interesting, I know I said that this part would have the interviews but inspiration lead me a different way. I hope you are okay with that, you'll see the interviews in the next part.

Many thanks to everyone who voted for this story. I won Best Fluff for this story and Best Smut Drabble for Forgive Me. And I came in second for Best Romance. All of this is just amazing to me and I have all of you guys to thank for it.

Also thanks to my betas klarolineepiclove, approvesomuch, jomosfamilyjewels and cecevolume for their wonderful skills.

Part 46

Caroline decided to go up to her bedroom to make the phone call to her mother. She wasn't planning to hide anything from Klaus, but she thought it would be easier to talk without another set of ears around. As she kicked off her shoes, she noticed a T-shirt of Klaus' lying crumpled on the floor and she couldn't help but smile at the sight. It had been tossed there a few nights by her own hands in the heat of passion and he must have forgotten it the next morning after they had woke.

While they maintained their own bedrooms, neither one of them slept alone most nights, ending up either in her bed or his. It was a habit that they had developed since they returned from the trip. Most of the nights it was after they had had sex but not always, sometimes it was because they wanted to be near the other one. Of course, there were also times when he would work late into the night in his studio and collapsed on his bed while she slept in her room. She hadn't told him but those were the nights when she found herself having a hard time sleeping.

Caroline settled into the overstuffed pillows on her bed, making herself comfortable before pressing the button on her phone designated for her mother.

"Hello?"

"Hi Mom, it's me." Caroline greeted, feeling silly since her mother would of course seen her number pop up on the screen and known it was her. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I worked the day shift today; I still have an hour or so until I plan to hit the sack." Liz replied. "I wasn't sure if I would hear from you tonight or not."

"Yeah, we were at a program for the twins and then followed it up with ice cream." She explained.

"Sounds like you had an enjoyable night." Liz commented.

"The twins were adorable; the rest of the night…it was…okay." Caroline sighed.

"I know that tone, that's the one you you use when you're trying not to sound upset. I hope my phone call didn't ruin it, it wasn't my intention." Liz stated sincerely.

"No, mom, it wasn't you that ruined it." She declared.

"Are you sure, you sounded upset on the phone earlier?"

"Well your phone call kind of hit me out of nowhere and I'm not particularly happy with Elena." Caroline stated.

"Why?"

"Seriously, Mom?" She asked. "For ratting me out of course. She wasn't happy when I told her I was dating Klaus last month and now she just happened to tell her mother about my relationship knowing it would get back to you. She probably thought that if you knew you might talk me out of it."

"Caroline, I doubt Elena told her mother out of spite. If she did, why would she have waited so long to tell Miranda?" Liz replied. "And Elena would know that I am one of the last people to talk you out of something that you wanted."

"True." Caroline acknowledged begrudgingly. "Regardless, that was just the beginning of the night going sour."

"Oh?" Liz replied, asking genuinely concerned.

"But that's not the reason I called, I called so that we can talk about my new relationship." She said. "So let's hear it."

"Hear what?" Her mother asked.

"How disappointed you are in me that I got involved with my boss and that you knew something was up at Christmas." Caroline declared. "Because I'm pretty sure that was what you were going to tell me earlier when you called if I hadn't had to cut it short."

She heard her mother sigh heavily on the other line. "Caroline, I don't want to fight with you."

"So you aren't going to argue with my choice?" Caroline questioned, not even attempting to hide the surprise in her voice. "That's not how it was earlier when you called. I had to practically beg to put this conversation off for a few hours and now you don't even want to have it?"

"I didn't say that I didn't want to talk, I said I didn't want to fight." Liz corrected. "And if we had talked earlier, it would have gone that way. When I called you I was angry, I couldn't believe that you were doing something so…so reckless with your life."

"So what changed?" Caroline asked interrupting her.

"I spoke to your father." Her mother replied. "After we hung up I called him and he told me that he was already aware of what was going on."

Caroline closed her eyes as her head dropped back against the headboard in frustration, not at her mother but herself. She could hear the hurt coming through the phone and she felt guilty for putting it there. "He's known since he and Stephen came for their visit."

"That's what he said," Liz said cutting in. "He also said you weren't the one to tell him, that he figured it out on his own and you only confirmed it when you were confronted with it."

"Yeah, in the middle of dinner at a crowded restaurant, I thought Stephen was going to kill him." Caroline muttered.

Liz chuckled a bit on the other line, imagining the scene with her daughter, ex-husband and his partner. "So once he told me that, I didn't feel like I was the only one you were withholding things, important things, from and he caught me up on his impressions of things from his visit."

"And that made you feel better?" Caroline inquired curious to know what her father had said. She knew that he and Stephen supported her in regards to Klaus, but what did they do to get her mother to back down so easily? She had a feeling she owed them a bottle of their favorite wine or possibly something bigger as a thank you present.

"It helped, yes. Bill said that from what he could see from observing the two of you, and after speaking with Klaus, he was confident that things between the two of you weren't some type of trashy affair." Liz clarified.

"It's not Mom, it's..wait what?" Caroline asked sitting up suddenly when her mother's words sunk in. "What do you mean when Dad talked to Klaus?"

"Umm…he said that the two of them went out for a drink and a long conversation." Her mother responded, a bit of hesitancy in her voice. "Why?"

"Because as far I was aware, the only time the two of them spoke or had a drink was the night Dad and Stephen came to the house to have pick me up. But that was only for a couple of minutes, and it was before Dad even confronted me about what was going on between us." Caroline explained as she thought over what her mom had told her. Then it hit her. "Dad must have pulled the 'dad card' and met with Klaus at some point before he left Boston. And neither one of them told me about it; I am never going to let him live this down."

"Who? Your father or Klaus?"

"Either," Caroline answered lightheartedly. She wasn't mad, well really mad that her father had done that but she did feel a little miffed that neither of them had told her about it. After all it was her and her life they had been discussing, she should have been told. "Maybe both of them but at the moment only one of them is within reach."

The two sat there for a few moments quietly before Liz spoke. "So this thing between the two of you is pretty serious isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Not even a moment of hesitation yet you've only been together what, a few months?" Liz asked.

"I don't have to tell you Mom, that things between us are anything but conventional." Caroline stated, knowing that she didn't really need to explain further. "Once we stopped dancing around each other, it was just all or nothing but we did wait a little before we told anyone."

"From what you've told me about the kids, I'm sure they are quite happy to find out that you two are together."

Caroline couldn't help but smile at her mother's mention of the twins. To say that they were happy about her and their father would not do the statement justice, they were on cloud nine. "Yeah, you could say that. But as much as I love them, they aren't the only reason I'm with him. I've never met anyone like him, he's…"

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Liz questioned, but before she could say anything, her mother kept going. "I know you Caroline, you wouldn't let yourself get in this deep if you weren't in love with him."

Caroline paused for a minute, considering the weight of her words before she spoke. "Yes."

"Does he know?"

"No. I haven't told him yet." She admitted. Ever since she had come to the realization that she was falling for Klaus, Caroline had thought about it every day and had come to the conclusion that her love was returned. They had never said the words, but there were times, when they made love or even sometimes just by the looks that he would give her, when she thought he felt the same way.

"This is probably going to make you think I'm trying to pick a fight but I'm curious about something. With the two of you together now, are you going to continue working for him?" Liz asked.

Caroline chuckled grimly. "It's funny you mention that. We were just discussing that before I called you."

After pulling her knees up in front of her and getting more comfortable, Caroline filled her mom in on the original agreement about the possibility of hiring a new nanny, and how they were going to start the interview process soon, including what had brought on the desire to do it.

"I have to say Caroline, I'm shocked that you're letting some gossiping effect you so much." Liz declared. "You've never been one to let it change your life, you usually confront it head on and tell people to deal with it or shove it."

"Yeah, well this time it's not just about me." Caroline stated. "I don't want the twins to be given a hard time; they might end up hating me for it."

"If those kids love you as much as it seems like they do, I highly doubt that. You didn't hate your dad or Stephen when the news broke about them around town did you?" Liz asked.

"No." She admitted.

"See, they won't either." Liz replied.

"Klaus said that they'd rather have me than to avoid teasing." Caroline declared.

"Sounds like a man who knows his children's hearts, which gives him extra points in my book." Liz stated. "What do they think about the idea of getting a new nanny?"

"Um, we haven't exactly told them yet." Caroline admitted. When her mother didn't respond, she knew it was because she was holding her tongue about something. "What Mom? You haven't held back anything yet, no reason to start now."

"This is just my opinion, I've never met Henry and Lexi and I only have what you told me to go on but don't you think that you leaving might, I don't know, have a negative effect on them?" Liz explained.

"What do you mean?"

"These kids have bonded with you, very closely it seems and I just wonder if you leaving wouldn't add to whatever issues they might already have from their mother not being around." Liz affirmed.

"I hadn't thought about that." Caroline admitted.

"Caroline sometimes you worry so much about doing the right thing for someone, you over complicate things." Her mother stated. "I get that you are trying to do what is best for everyone, but also trying to avoid adding extra stress to your romantic relationship because of your professional relationship. Most of the time those two things don't work, but sometimes they do."

Liz was the one to chuckle now. "Of course, this all hinges on the idea that you will find a suitable nanny and I have a feeling that your high standards might cause issues with that."

"Hey." Caroline retorted, sounding offended. "You make me sound like I'm a snob or something."

"No, not a snob honey. But you have to look at it this way, you are going to want the person who will best take care of the kids and your motto has always been since high school that if you want a job done right, you do it yourself. So you see why I might have my doubts about you finding someone to replace you." Her mother explained.

"I'm not that narcissistic Mom to think I'm the best nanny there is." She stated.

"I didn't say that you did, what I'm saying is that these kids aren't a job to you anymore, I don't think they have been for a long time and it's because of that connection you have that might make you have difficulties finding someone to take over the job." Liz clarified.

Even though her mother couldn't see her, Caroline nodded her head in understanding. "Maybe Mom, but I should still try."

"There's no harm in looking. And if you can't find someone, things don't have to change. There are couples out there that work together." Liz stated. "The decision is yours to make, I just wanted to tell you what I think."

"Thanks." Caroline replied. "I should probably let you go so you can get some sleep. I'll call you again soon."

"Yes, you will. None of this waiting for weeks to tell me the important things in your life Caroline," Liz commanded. "And I hope that maybe this summer when the kids are out of school, you guys can come visit Mystic Falls and I can meet all of them?"

"Yeah, maybe." She answered with a smile. "Bye Mom."

"Bye Caroline."

She stayed still after she disconnected the call, just taking a few moments to think about the whole conversation. If she was truthful, she hated the idea of another woman taking care of the twins in her place. Her thoughts went back to her and Lexi's conversation when they met Cinderella, would the twins think that she was leaving them? She of course would still be around but the time she spent with them would be more limited.

There was a strong possibility that she wouldn't be living there anymore, after all her room was part of her position and if she found a family they may or may not want her to live onsite as well. Was her choice to go through with these interviews a good one? She was starting to doubt herself now.

If they didn't get a new nanny, could Klaus and her continue to make it work? Klaus seemed to believe that they could and between the two of them, he had the most experience of working with those he was close to.

Thinking of Klaus made her remember that he was waiting for her, upstairs in his room and she found herself with the sudden desire to join him.

/

Klaus sighed in discontent as he ran his thumb along the lines he had just drawn, attempting to get the shading that he desired just right but failing miserably. For once, his art did not distract him from his thoughts, thoughts of a certain blonde in his life who was one floor below him, most likely still on the phone with her mother. He wondered if the fact that she had been on the discussion for so long, was a good or bad sign.

The earlier hurt he had felt when Caroline had told him that she had not shared with her mother the fact that they were dating returned and with it the reservations he had about the whole ordeal of them interviewing nanny candidates. He never should have agreed to their first compromise. He had understood her misgivings but he had never thought anything would actually come of the agreement, especially not the possibility of her leaving. The idea of not waking up next to her almost every morning or seeing her and the twins as soon as he walked in the door in the evening caused his chest to constrict painfully.

His sister's question to him a month ago came back to him, and though he denied it that day, he knew it had been in vain. He had yet to say it out loud or admit it to anyone, even Caroline, but he knew that he had fallen in love with her. To be truthful he had been from the beginning when he had seen her with the twins and how she had acted around them, as if they were the most important people in the world. It spoke to the father in him, and that coupled with her beautiful personality caught his attention in a way that was beyond purely physical attraction.

Klaus knew that whatever small amount of focus he had been putting into his sketching was gone. He tossed his sketchpad off to the side and rose from his bed to change his clothes. He was still dressed in the clothes from the day and they were definitely not what he wanted to sleep in. He reached to pull off his shirt when a voice stopped him.

"Looks like I got here just in time."

Turning around, Klaus caught sight of Caroline standing in the doorway of his bedroom. He took in the robe that was wrapped around her, along with the mass of curls pulled up on top of her head and smiled. "I thought I might be going to bed by myself."

"Sorry, it took me a bit longer than I thought it might." Caroline explained as she made her way inside, shutting the door behind her before she walked over to stand in front of him. "But I'm here now."

"How was the talk with your mother?" He asked as his eyes looked over her face as she stopped a few inches away from him, trying to get some idea of how the conversation had gone. Her eyes were not red-rimmed or wet so that was a positive sign.

"It went well." She answered. "To tell you the truth I'm surprised. I thought I would call, she would lecture me, and it would go downhill until World War Three erupted but when I called her, she had calmed down."

"That is good."

"Yes, and she told me something very interesting." Caroline said as she scowled him, while placing her hands on her hips. "You failed to tell me that my Dad visited you alone when he was in town."

If she wasn't trying to act as if she was mad at him, she would have laughed at the look on Klaus' face. He looked like a little boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Now love…"

"Why didn't you tell me? Why all of the secrecy?" She asked. "I mean from what I know of it, it couldn't have been anything bad, like him threatening you or anything."

"He came to my office to see me." Klaus answered. "He asked me not to tell you. I believe it was more that he was nervous of your wrath as was I."

"That sounds like my Dad." Caroline replied. "I don't like the idea of him searching you out and going behind my back. It makes me feel as if he doesn't trust me or that he thinks I'm not an adult."

"It was nothing of the sort. He wanted to make sure that my intentions with you were honorable and I wasn't taking advantage. We talked for a little while, shared a drink and then parted ways." He finished, giving more details. "Don't be mad at him."

"I'm not." Caroline admitted. "Especially considering that whatever you two talked about convinced him that he was okay with things and he helped me get my mom to accept us."

"He did?" Klaus inquired, his eyebrow rising in question. "I'm relieved to know that there is no longer any strife between you and your mother."

She nodded. "Yeah, thanks to Dad and when I told her…"

"Told her what?" He asked when her voice trailed off. Caroline looked at him with a bit of alarm in her eyes, as if she had started to say something that she hadn't meant to. He wanted to respect that and not pry but there was something inside of him that screamed for him to keep going. "Caroline, what is it?"

"I told her, how much I care about you." She stammered out. She couldn't believe that she had almost blurted her feelings out to him like that. It was not the way she had thought she would tell him.

Klaus stepped forward, closing the small amount of space between, and brought his hand up to cup her chin, forcing her to look at him. "And how much do you care about me?"

Caroline tried to swallow, her mouth suddenly feeling dry as she looked into his eyes. They were staring at her so intensely that even if his hand hadn't been on her chin, she couldn't look away. They were so full of a variety emotions; but the one that was the most powerful was longing as if he was needed to know her answer. And she wasn't going to keep him waiting. "I'm…I'm in love with you."

The words were barely out of her mouth before he brought his lips down to cover hers. But it wasn't the passionate fiery kiss she expected, no he did it tenderly as if he thought she would break. She brought her arms up and slipped them around his neck, loving the feel of him against her while his hands roamed lightly over her back sending shivers down her spine. They kissed like that for several moments, a mixture of gentle caresses, and feather light touches before they became more urgent.

Klaus moved his tongue across her lips seeking entrance; and she gladly opened to him. Caroline was quickly drowning in the taste of him, she couldn't get enough, while he hadn't responded verbally to her declaration, he seemed to be trying to show her.

As he continued to kiss her, his right hand came to her breast and began gently caressing her through the thin material of her robe and her nightclothes underneath. Caroline sucked in a sharp breath when his thumb brushed against her sensitive nipple, breaking the kiss as her head fell back. Klaus moved his lips down the curve of her neck as he brought his other hand up to toy with her other breast, duplicating the sweet torture.

While his lips and tongue left warm wet kisses along her throat and collarbone, Caroline ran her hands down his back and slipped them underneath the edge of his shirt. She had to feel his skin under her hands; she ached to touch him. When her fingers met his heated skin, she slid her hands up, pulling Klaus' shirt up with them. When she had the shirt up high enough, he halted his ministrations long enough so that she could slip his shirt over his head. Her eyes taking a moment to roam over his toned upper body before she leaned in and began placing light kisses along the bottom of his neck then slowly started down his chest. But before she could go far, he pulled away causing Caroline to look at him in confusion. He merely smirked at her as he reached forward and untied the belt of her robe. "I think you've got too many clothes on. I want to see your beautiful body."

When the belt was released, Klaus slowly ran his hands inside of her robe, up over her chest, pushing the robe off her leaving her in just her spaghetti strap nightgown. Klaus blinked for a moment, surprised by it. It was the same shear one he had teased her with some time ago, the same one he had yet to see her in.

"You look more exquisite than I imagined." He whispered as he kissed each shoulder while sliding the straps of the nightgown down over her arms, his eyes following its progress to the floor. She was completely bare in front of him, and he felt his control slipping.

Caroline tried to smile but the pure desire shining from Klaus's eyes made her breath hitch and she licked her lips unconsciously. Before she could do anything, he kissed her again, this time so passionately her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest and the throbbing at her core increased tenfold.

His hands started roaming over her body again. He just couldn't get enough of her. His lips broke away from hers and began to move down her throat, his lips caressing her shoulders as his hands came up to knead her breast tenderly before lowering his mouth to her nipple. His tongue teased the hard bud before he pulled it between his lips. Caroline tangled a hand in the hair at the nape of Klaus's neck, exhaling his name on a sigh as she gave herself over to the pleasure. "Klaus…"

Looking down at him, she breathed in the scent of cologne and the intoxicating male scent that belonged only to him before Caroline reached for the waistband of his pants. She worked the button loose before sliding the zipper down. "Now it looks like you are the one who has too many clothes on."

When her hand came to the edge of his boxers, she slipped it inside and grasped his very apparent arousal. As she began slowly stroking him, loving the feel of him in her hand, he released his mouth from her breast, as he hissed at her actions. Caroline took the opportunity to lean in and trail kisses along Klaus's jaw, moving to his neck. She licked and nibbled her way down his throat, his fingers continuing to caress the naked skin his mouth had abandoned, until she reached the collar of his shirt. Her free hand curled around the hem of his shirt and began to tug it up. When it passed his navel, Klaus took over, pulling the hindering garment over his head, while she released him so that her hands moved to his hips instead and pushed down his pants and boxers.

As soon as he tossed the shirt away, Klaus quickly removed his pants and boxers before pulling her back to him. He picked her up, lifting her so that her legs wrapped around him as his lips took hers again. He walked them backward until they reached his bed. He climbed onto the bed with her still in his arms, and settled her against the pillows.

Their bodies fit together just right. She could easily feel the thick, swollen hardness of him pressed against the junction of her thighs, and the need for now was screaming louder. Klaus moaned against Caroline's lips as she rocked her hips against him, her body aching for release.

His hands slid down her legs, loosening her grip from around his hips, before his right hand trailed down to the source of her arousal. His fingers brushed her clit, rolling lazy circles around the nerve endings and driving her crazy. He watched as Caroline's eyes closed on a moan, her head falling back against the pillow in eager surrender. Taking the cue, he slid two fingers into her slick passage, loving the delighted moan she let out at the intrusion.

As his fingers started to move inside her, he leaned down, took a swollen nipple into his mouth, and rolled his tongue around it. That was nearly Caroline's undoing. She couldn't take anymore. She wanted him... now. "Make love to me. I want to feel you inside me."

"Soon love…soon I'll be so deep inside you that you won't know where I end and you begin." He whispered against her breast.

"Klaus…" Caroline moaned.

"I love the way you moan my name." Klaus said seductively. Her hips began to thrust harder against his hand, attempting to get the release he was driving her towards, but instead he removed his fingers, prolonging the delicious agony as he traced a path back to tease her clit.

"Did you know that? Do you know what else I love?" He smiled at her frustrated impatience with his question.

"Klaus…" Caroline begged impatiently as she tried to get him to increase the rhythm of his fingers on her clit. But he ignored the insistent bucking of her hips as he settled his weight fully between her legs, the head of his cock, teasing her entrance but never sliding into her passage. "Klaus…please!"

"You didn't answer me Caroline…"

"What?" Caroline arched her back frantically and moved against his hand, her breath coming in sharp panting gasps, mingling with his own shortened inhalations.

"If you know what else I love?" Klaus asked as he moved his fingers across her clit with just a bit more force.

The pressure increased but it still wasn't enough. She slid her hands down his back to his butt, her knees falling back against the bed as she arched against him, forcing the rhythm of his fingers a little faster. "I don't know."

"You…I love you."

At his declaration, Klaus drove into her as her orgasm exploded through her body. "Oh God!"

Klaus' rocked his hips against Caroline in the rhythm she demanded, the silken feel of her walls closing around him. He closed his eyes, needing to be closer, deeper, feeling Caroline press herself more fully against him, needing, wanting, having. He was barely able to pull out before he was thrusting more deeply into her tight passage, loving the feel of her cumming around his hard, heated flesh even as he felt her build towards another climax.

Her body trembled uncontrollably and his own trembled in response. He pressed into her deeper, thrusting harder as she wrapped her legs around him. He moaned as he felt her hard nipples graze his chest, his hips beginning to move frantically when he felt her come apart in his arms. She sobbed his name and her walls clamped down on his cock again, milking his response from his body and tearing her name from his lips. He came, pumping helplessly into her body before he fell against her, his breath coming in heavy gasps.

Looking down at Caroline's sated, content features, Klaus reached up and swept a strand of hair away from her face before he brushed his lips against hers. The two lovers laid there contently, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking and declarations.

There you go guys, they finally said it! What do you think?