AUTHOR'S NOTE:Hello my lovelies, hope that this update finds you in good spirits. Apologies again for making you wait so long for an update, I really hate writer's block, especially when you know what you are going to write but just can't write it. Thank you to everyone for the encouraging reviews and the PMs, I appreciate it greatly.

There's a bit of a time jump in this next part which you will see and the part itself is kind of filler but I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to jomosfamilyjewels, hybridlovelies and klarolineepiclove for their awesome help betaing this as well as the ideas they suggested.

Part 48

Seven months later

"Caroline? Can I have just one more cookie?" Henry begged as he eyed the treats table at the gym. They looked so good; he really needed more, even if it was just one. He wasn't even going to be picky on which kind he got, he loved chocolate chip but he would eat a sugar one just as easily.

"No sweetie, you've had enough." Caroline answered, as she pulled her mouth away from her phone to focus on him.

"But you only gave me one, Lexi and her friends had more than that." Henry argued as he sat back with a pout on his face. It wasn't fair, after all his dad always said that they had to share and be equal so why couldn't that count towards the cookies?

"Well for one, this is a Christmas party for Lexi and the other members of the gym so they are allowed to have a bit more and two, I might have given you one but I saw you sneak two more off the table when you thought I wasn't looking." Caroline stated, raising her eyebrow at him. He looked down sheepishly at being caught. "Your dad and I don't want you up all night on a sugar high; we have to get up early so we can get to the airport."

"Fine." Henry said with a huff. "At least in Mystic Falls I know Sheriff Liz will have cookies and candy. She promised."

Caroline barely suppressed the smile on her face at Henry's words. It amazed her how quickly the twins had come to depend on her mother to spoil them considering they'd only seen her once. The four of them were supposed to visit over the summer like her mother had suggested but the schedules never seemed to allow for it. There had been a small town crime spree in Mystic Falls so her mom had been too busy for company. Everyone had been disappointed, especially Caroline and Klaus hated seeing her like that so for Caroline's birthday, so he surprised her by flying her mother to Boston for a visit. During the brief few days she'd been here, Liz Forbes had bought the twins pretty much every treat they came across in the city and had stolen their hearts.

"Sounds like someone is taking the grandmother role to heart." Bonnie replied in her ear, obviously hearing all of Caroline and Henry's conversation.

"Bonnie!" Caroline exclaimed though what her friend said made her smile. It had been nice to see how warm and open her mother had been towards the twins, not that she ever thought her mother would shun them, after all they were kids. However the way her mom had acted with them was more than that, and Caroline was grateful. She wondered if it wasn't due to her own relationship with the twins, and her mother realizing that her relationship with Klaus was the most serious one she'd ever had.

"Please Care, you know I'm right. You guys are as close as you can be to being a family so it's natural for your mom to act like that." Bonnie retorted.

Caroline couldn't argue what Bonnie had said, and she didn't want to. Over the last seven months her since she had moved into his room, Klaus and the twins had become very much their own family. Things were nowhere near flawless, Klaus and her argued from time to time especially in the beginning when they were trying to settle into their new situation, the twins were typical kids and misbehaved at times but that was life. A life she loved very much.

Caroline remembered the day that they had told the twins about the changes in their lives. After Elena left and the twins had finished cleaning up the playroom, Klaus and Caroline had sat down them down at dinner and explained about how Caroline was no longer going to be living in her bedroom. At first, the two had panicked thinking that despite their efforts that a new nanny had been found but Caroline quickly assured them that she wasn't going anywhere. Klaus told them that Caroline was going to be giving up her room so that they could share a room instead. The twins had found it odd that their dad and Caroline didn't already share the same room since they slept together all of the time but since it seemed to mean that they weren't going to lose her, they were happy.

Her mother on the other hand hadn't been as happy She was just getting used to her daughter dating Klaus and while she had been the one to suggest to Caroline not to leave, she didn't particularly like the idea of her 'moving in' with him and sharing a bedroom. Caroline didn't get why she was hung up about it, after all her mom knew she wasn't a virgin and would have most likely already been sleeping with him, but it seemed she didn't like the idea of them sharing a bedroom unless they were married. "Yeah, well she doesn't quite extend the family feeling vibes towards Klaus and I's living situation."

"You're her little girl Caroline, I think you could be eighty and she would cringe at the idea of you sharing a bed with your boyfriend." Bonnie stated.

"But if she's so uncomfortable, why is she insisting that we stay with her?" Caroline asked. "I mean she knows that if we stay at the house, we'll be sharing a bed, there's only so much sleeping area in there."

"Maybe her desire to see you outweighs her uneasiness." Her friend suggested.

"Possibly." She agreed with a sigh.

"It's going to be weird not seeing you at the Gilberts on Christmas." Bonnie declared.

"I know it will be weird for me too but I want to be with Klaus and the kids on Christmas morning this year, and all of the Mikaelsons insist on me being there for their gathering later in the day, they wouldn't let up until I agreed at Thanksgiving." Caroline affirmed though of course Bonnie already knew it.

"Yes, dinner with the other side of the family." Bonnie commented. "Speaking of which, who all is going to be there?"

Caroline knew who Bonnie was asking about specifically and sighed. "Bonnie, you know he's going to be there."

"Who said I was even asking about Kol?"

"Well the fact that I didn't say his name but you knew who I was talking about is a pretty good indicator." Caroline stated.

"I wasn't talking about him; I just didn't know if perhaps there were going to be additional guests." Bonnie declared.

It was then that Caroline knew what or who her friend was talking about. Bonnie and Kol had ended things at the beginning of October after they got in a fight because Kol got jealous when Bonnie's ex boyfriend Luka had suddenly called her one day. Bonnie had told him that he had no reason to be jealous and even if there was, they weren't in that kind of relationship, which only infuriated Kol more. He ended up issuing an ultimatum, either they get serious or they ended it. Bonnie didn't take well to it and broke things off.

Caroline's eyes wandered over to where Anna, Kol's newest lady friend, talking to Lexi and the other girls her age. They had started talking at one of Lexi's meets and things had gone from there. "It's only been a few weeks; I don't think they are at that point yet that he'd be bringing her to family stuff."

"Well it's his choice, and none of my business." Bonnie declared.

"Right." She replied. Caroline saw Lexi look up at her then and waved enthusiastically when she saw Caroline staring her way. She quickly waved back and smiled big at her.

As Lexi dropped her hand, she heard a voice whisper next to her. "Your mom is really pretty."

She turned to see that it was the new girl, Lucy, smiling at her. She decided not to correct her from what she called Caroline. "Thanks, I think so too."

"My mom said she was really nice too, she talked to her when I first started here." Lucy continued. "She said she was the nicest mom she'd met."

"That's not her mom, Lexi doesn't have a mom." Another voice snidely remarked, one that Lexi knew too well. It was Greta, the one girl in their age group who she couldn't stand. She was a bossy know it all who thought she was the best gymnast on the whole team, including the older girls even though she usually came in last.

"We weren't talking to you Greta." Lexi snapped in annoyance. Why did she have to open her big mouth?

But Greta ignored her, instead she smiled and looked at Lucy. "That's just her dad's girlfriend who he pays to like them."

"Take it back, that's not true!" Lexi exclaimed, her anger at Greta growing more and more. She thought she could even see red.

"Yes, it is. My mom said so!" Greta shouted back. "She said that Caroline is a hussy who your dad hired because he was thinking with his downstairs brain."

Those who knew the Mikaelsons were well acquainted with their tempers and Lexi was no different. As a matter of fact her Aunt Kat had told her that her and Henry's temper was doubly so because they were Mikaelsons and Pierces. And those tempers really came out when someone spoke badly about someone they cared about. So it shouldn't have been a surprise when Lexi suddenly launched herself at the other little girl.

Henry spotted his sister tackling the other girl and quickly tugged on Caroline's sweater to get her attention. "Caroline…Caroline."

"What is it sweetie?" She asked, looking down at him.

"Um, Lexi." Henry said simply as he pointed to what was going on. He wanted to run over and help her but his dad and uncles had always told him it wasn't nice to hit girls so he thought it was probably a better idea to get Caroline. He knew his sister could take care of herself, she might have won in fights against him from time to time, though he totally let her win.

Caroline looked in the direction that Henry was pointing and saw a familiar head of blonde hair rolling around on the ground with another little girl. "Bonnie, call you back."

She didn't wait for a response before she tossed her phone to Henry and rushed towards the fighting girls who Anna was trying desperately to pull apart. Once she was within reach, Caroline grabbed a hold of Lexi by the waist and hauled her off the girl. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Making her take it back!" Lexi yelled as she tried to wiggle out of Caroline's arms so she could lunge at the girl again.

"Alexandria Mikaelson! Stop right now." Caroline ordered. She didn't know if it was the use of her full name or the tone of her voice but Lexi stopped struggling. "If I let you go will you act like a human being and not attack Greta again?"

Lexi didn't answer right away, and Caroline knew she was deciding whether or not she could fulfill Caroline's demands. When she finally nodded, Caroline released her just as Greta's mother, Aja joined them and ran to her daughter.

"Greta, are you okay?" Her mother asked as she checked her over.

Greta shook her head and Caroline watched as a few tears welled up in her eyes. "She just jumped on me, I didn't do anything."

Aja looked at Caroline and Anna with a look of fury. "I want that girl kicked off the team; if she is going to go around attacking teammates especially when my daughter wasn't doing anything then she shouldn't be here."

"Hey, hang on a minute. Lexi doesn't go around just attacking people for no reason, there has to be something going on, perhaps Greta said or did something to upset her. Which means both girls are responsible and should be punished." Caroline spoke up.

Aja opened her mouth to argue but Anna cut her off. "Since my family owns this gym, I will be the one dealing with any kind of punishment, at least in regards to the team. But to do that I need to talk to both girls."

"You are taking her side, as if that's a surprise." Aja huffed snottily.

Anna's head snapped in the other woman's direction. "Excuse me; I am not sure what you are implying by that statement but I am not showing any type of favoritism here, I am giving both girls a chance to tell their side."

When she could see that Aja was not going to interrupt again, Anna looked at the two girls, her eyes flicking back and forth before settling on Lexi. "Lexi, can you tell me what happened?"

Lexi nodded. "Lucy and I were talking, and Greta butted in. I told her that we weren't talking to her but she didn't listen. Instead she kept talking."

"Why did you start a fight with Greta?"

"Because of what she said." Lexi replied.

"And what did she say?" Anna asked.

She watched as Lexi's eyes darted to Caroline and then back to her before she spoke. "She said something that wasn't nice about Caroline, and it made me mad. And…"

"And then what, Lexi?" Caroline prompted when she saw the hesitancy on the girl's face. When she heard her say that Greta had said something about her, Caroline knew that Lexi was being timid in an effort to spare her feelings but she needed to tell them the truth. She would rather have hurt feelings if it meant that Lexi's penalty at the gym was less severe.

"Like I said Lucy and I were talking and she said that she thought my mom was really nice and I said thank you and then Greta said that Caroline wasn't my mom and that she is my dad's girlfriend." Lexi said in a rush, pausing for a moment before she continued but Aja interrupted her instead.

"It sounds as if Lexi attacked my daughter for simply speaking the truth and it disrupted the delusions that the girl has about her relationship with this woman. So she lashed out." Aja stated snidely.

Now it was Caroline whose anger was starting to rise. This woman was being a pain in the ass, and had been since they started talking but now she was speaking badly about Lexi and she wasn't having any of that. "Excuse you but I'm not going to let you insult her, claiming that she is delusional simply because she didn't correct Lucy on something. And it is very rude for you to interrupt considering that Lexi wasn't finished yet." Caroline snapped at the woman before looking back at Lexi. "What else happened sweetie?"

"I told her to take it back but she wouldn't because it was true. That her mom said so." Lexi declared.

"She's lying." Greta shouted. "I didn't say that, Lexi is lying."

"No, she's not." A third voice spoke up. The adults turned to look towards it and saw Lucy had stepped forward. When the fight had broken out, she had been lost in the group of girls watching and had stayed there until now. "Lexi is telling the truth. Greta said that and then she said some stuff that her mom said about Caroline being a hussy, whatever that it is."

Lexi's motivation for the fight suddenly became crystal clear to Caroline. She had thought they had gotten past this in the last several months but it looked like there were still a few out there that thought badly about her relationship with the twins' father. However she wasn't going to let their opinions hurt Lexi.

"Thank you Lucy." Anna acknowledged then looked at Greta. "Greta, I'll give you one more chance to tell us the truth."

Greta looked angrily at her mother before she rolled her eyes. "Fine, yes that is what I said. It's not like it is that big of a deal…"

"No, Greta it is a very big deal." Anna corrected. "This means that the fight was due to both of your actions and not just one party."

"Regardless, Lexi is the one who attacked Greta." Aja argued.

"Lexi shouldn't have gotten physical but Greta did provoke her." Caroline debated. "Lexi was just defending someone she cares about perhaps if Greta had known not to do that or if you had not spoken about a relationship you know nothing about in front of her, this could have been avoided."

Aja reared back as if she'd been slapped by Caroline instead of just her words. Once she recovered she stepped forward so that her and Caroline's faces were only inches apart. "Excuse me but you do not get to say what I speak about in front of my daughter. As for your 'relationship', it is no secret to anyone that you used those kids to get to their father so don't try to act as if you are offended by someone calling you on it."

"Again, you are just showing how ignorant you are of the situation by jumping to conclusions." Caroline declared. "I am not and have never used them to get to Klaus. I love them as if they were my own, and will do anything I can to protect them from small minded self-righteous people like you who think that they can look down on us."

Anna could see the argument between the two women starting to escalate and stepped in before she had to break up another physical fight. "Ladies, this isn't the way to handle this and if you continue, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave.

Caroline nodded stiffly to her, as if she understood but didn't like it. However Aja was a completely different story. "There is no need, we will leave and I assure you I won't be bringing my daughter back here."

And with that, Aja grabbed her daughter's hand and started pulling her off the gym floor and towards the exit. Greta was arguing with her about it but Aja did not pay her any attention. Once they were gone, Caroline looked at Anna somewhat sheepishly. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to lose my temper."

"It's understandable Caroline." Anna said to the woman that she considered a friend before lowering her voice. "I assure you, my mother will not be upset if Aja follows through on her threat, she has had to go toe to toe with her on several different occasions."

Caroline blew out a breath of relief. "Good."

"However even if Greta does not return, there is still the issue of Lexi and what happened." Anna reminded her. "I need to speak to my mother first but I think a good first step would be for Lexi not to finish out the party right now as part of her punishment. Then we will talk to you and Klaus when you return from your trip about anything else that needs to be done."

Though she was still mad and upset, Caroline nodded in agreement; her anger wasn't aimed at Anna but at that stupid woman. "Okay, we'll talk to you soon then. Let's go Lexi."

Lexi opened her mouth to argue but quickly shut it when she saw the look on Caroline's face. She quickly made her way to where her sweats were located, dressed and within a few minutes the three of them were heading out the door.

/

Caroline looked in the rearview mirror briefly looking at Lexi while they were at a stop light. The little girl looked quite distraught and she couldn't blame her. The night had not been the merry event they had planned and though Lexi had made a bad decision, Caroline didn't want her to feel worse. "Lexi, I just wanted to say thank you."

"Thank me?" Lexi asked surprised.

Caroline nodded. "For sticking up for me, I appreciate you doing that when someone was talking bad about me."

"You do?"

"Yes, but…" She added. "Sometimes you have to be the bigger person and ignore them."

"You sound like Dad." Lexi huffed.

"Well he's right." Caroline stated. She remembered Klaus giving her the same advice during their first few months together. She hadn't wanted to listen to him, thinking he was just telling her that to placate her and maybe he had but she had soon realized that he was right. People would always find something about you to talk about, but it was up to you to decide if their opinion of you meant more than your own. "Just don't tell him I said that okay?"

"Okay." She agreed.

"What about you Henry?" Caroline asked. "You're not going to tell your dad I said that right?"

"Nope, I can keep a secret." Henry declared.

"Good boy." Caroline said with a small laugh before she got serious again. "But guys, seriously people are going to gossip and sometimes they are going to say things that you don't like but by letting them know that they are getting to you just gives them more power over you. Then they win and you lose."

"But Greta didn't win." Lexi stated.

"Didn't she?" Caroline inquired. "She upset you and got a rise out of you, to the point that you're in trouble now with Anna and Pearl so yes, she did win in a way."

"Yeah, I didn't think about that when I decided to force her to take it back." Lexi admitted.

"Also fighting is never the answer to ending an argument, only in defense if someone is trying to hurt you." Caroline lectured. They pulled up in front of the house a few minutes later and after killing the engine, Caroline looked back at Lexi. "Now it's time to tell your dad."

"Do we have to?" Lexi asked.

"Yes, sweetie. We do." Caroline declared.

"He's going to be mad."

"I don't know about mad, upset and disappointed but I don't think I've ever seen your dad mad at you. But if you are going to make bad decisions, you have to face the music. Are you ready?" The blonde asked.

Lexi took a few minutes before nodding and started to get out of the car.

/

Klaus was just coming down the stairs after changing out of his work clothes when the front door suddenly swung open. For a moment, he thought that someone might have kicked it open considering the force behind it but then he saw three familiar faces come through it and his alarm turned to confusion. "Caroline? What are you guys doing home? I figured you would be at the party for at least another hour."

Instead of Caroline answering him, it was Henry who ran forward. "Dad, dad. Guess what? It's official, I'm the good twin."

"What do you mean the 'good' twin?" Klaus asked his son, who was smiling proudly.

"Lexi got into a fight at gymnastics and got into trouble and I've never done that so that makes me the good twin." Henry explained excitedly.

At the mention of Lexi and fight, Klaus turned his attention to his daughter who was standing behind Caroline, peaking at him through her downcast eyelashes. He knew she was waiting to see what his reaction would be but at the moment all he could feel was surprise. "Fight? Why did Lexi get into a fight?"

Henry moved to open his mouth but Caroline cut him off. "Henry, why don't you go upstairs and start getting ready for bed?"

"But it's still early…" Henry whined.

"I didn't say you had to go to bed, just get ready. We have an early flight in the morning anyways." Caroline stated. "You too Lexi, I'll tell your dad what happened and then I'm sure he'll be up to see you."

Lexi nodded before she stepped forward towards the stairs but before she went up, she looked at Klaus. "I'm sorry Daddy."

Klaus started to ask whatever for but Caroline's hand on his arm stopped him. They watched as the twins go up the stairs and as soon as they disappeared from sight, Klaus looked at Caroline. "What happened? Did Lexi really get into a fight?"

"Yes." Caroline replied. "But before I tell you everything, I need a drink. I'm so mad I could…ugh!"

Klaus watched as Caroline practically stomped out of the foyer in search of a drink. She headed to the kitchen where she retrieved a bottle of wine they had been drinking earlier in the week. To say he was shocked by her attitude at the moment. "Okay love, you have your drink now what was Henry talking about? What is this about Lexi getting into a fight?"

"Lexi and another girl got into a fight; I had to physically pull her off the other girl." Caroline stated.

"You mean there was an actual brawl and not just words?" Klaus asked even more surprised.

"Yes, it was way beyond words." She explained. "This other little girl, Greta, said some stuff to Lexi that really hurt and angered her to the point that Lexi jumped on her when she wouldn't take it back."

"Lexi started the fight?" Klaus asked the surprise evident in his voice. When Caroline nodded, he went on. "She knows better than that, I raised her better than that."

"I know and she knows, that's why she told you she was sorry." Caroline declared. "We talked about it all on the way home."

"Then why are you still upset with her?" He inquired, feeling very confused.

"Oh, I'm not upset with her. Yes, I'm disappointed that she did that but I'm not mad at her. I'm upset with Greta's mother." She acknowledged before she relayed the whole story to him up until Aja had stormed out of the gym. Caroline watched as his expression turned from unhappy and confused to proud and adoring. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Klaus moved forward and wrapped his hands around her waist to pull her forward, kissing her softly on the lips briefly then pulled back and looked at her, pausing for a moment before he said. "I love you."

"I love you too." Caroline managed to get out before he kissed her again. It was a brief one and when he pulled back, she spoke. "Okay, now I'm the one who is confused. Not that I mind the kissing but what's with the sudden mood change? You were upset just a few minutes ago."

"I'm still upset but hearing how you defended my daughter, just reminds me of how much I owe Stefan for dropping your name to me." Klaus acknowledged before brushing a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to go have a chat with Lexi now. She's probably worrying herself sick thinking that she's in a lot of trouble."

Caroline smiled at the flattering remark as she watched him head out of the room and towards the stairs. He was right; they owed Stefan for introducing them. If he hadn't, she wouldn't have this man in her life, this family. She knew that some people couldn't see it, but that's what they were, her family.

Well was it worth the wait?