AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello my lovelies! Sorry it has taken me so long to update, I can only say that writing the proposal took a lot out of me and I kind of buried myself in my Klefaroline inspiration but I'm back with an update and I hope you can forgive me. I loved reading everyone's reactions to the proposal, I can't believe that something I wrote brought tears to people's eyes. I didn't count but I feel like it was 50/50 on the reviews on who was surprised and who saw it coming. We will be including the wedding but I won't be going into a ton of details on the stuff that leads up to it. I don't think I could write Caroline's day to day planning at least that it would be entertaining.

Disclaimer: There are some canon lines in this part, if you recognize them, I didn't write it.

Thanks to klarolineepiclove and jomosfamilyjewels for their help with this, they are great.

Part 51

Though she had originally planned for them to all sleep in the next morning to recuperate from the excitement of the night before as well as rest for the upcoming festivities at the Winter Wonderland Party that night, Caroline woke before eight. As the memories of the previous night came to the forefront of her thoughts, both the proposal and the quiet private celebration she and Klaus had had afterwards, Caroline couldn't keep the smile off of her face. She glanced down at the ring on her finger before looking over at the slumbering man next to her. She thought about waking him but decided to let him sleep and instead decided to wake up someone else or some ones else so that she could share their news.

Caroline got out of bed quickly but carefully and headed to the bathroom to get ready to go out. Knowing she would take a shower later, she just changed clothes, brushed her teeth and did something to manage her hair before she came back out. Klaus was still dead to the world, looking a combination of sexy and adorable with his mused curls and shirtless torso, so she wrote him a quick note, kissed his cheek and left the room. She checked on the kids and found that they too were still fast asleep then headed downstairs. Her mother was working, doing some last minute things to help with the security for the party so she had the downstairs to herself as she made a couple of phone calls. Once that was done, she headed out.

One stop later and Caroline was pulling the rental up in front of the Bennett house and practically skipped to the front door. It was quite chilly out but she barely noticed it as she waited on the doorstep after knocking. A minute or so later, the door opened to the sight of a smiling Sheila Bennett. "Caroline! I'm so happy to see you."

Caroline shifted the box in her arms to the side so that she was able to hug her in greeting. "Me too, Ms. Sheila."

"Now come in child and get out of the cold." Sheila ordered as she released the blonde.

Caroline did as she was told and quickly stepped over the threshold into the Bennett house. As always it was warm and homey, and the older woman took the box from Caroline's hands as she began to unwrap her coat. "I'm sorry it's so early, but I brought pastries from the bakery so hopefully you forgive me."

"Caroline you know you are always welcomed over here at any time though I must say I'm a bit put out that you came alone. I want to meet these twins I've heard so much about from you, your mother and my Bonnie not to mention I am very interested in meeting the man who is responsible for putting that smile on your face and the light in your eyes." Sheila declared as her eyes looked over Caroline.

"They were still sleeping when I left, I could have waited but I really wanted to see Bonnie and Elena." Caroline clarified. "Has Elena arrived yet?"

"Just a few minutes ago, they are in the kitchen inhaling the fresh pot of coffee I made." Sheila stated, her gaze catching on Caroline's hand when she pulled off her gloves. The smile on her face grew larger as she winked at Caroline. "Well now I see why we got the early morning wake up call."

"I wanted to tell them in person." Caroline explained.

"Let's not keep them waiting then shall we?" Sheila declared as she looped her arm around Caroline's waist and led her toward the kitchen.

When the two women entered, they were met with the sight of Bonnie and Elena, both looking very tired and worn out sitting at the kitchen table with the pot of coffee between them. At her appearance both looked in her direction but Bonnie spoke first. "Caroline, you couldn't give us a few more hours of sleep? We didn't get in from the airport until after midnight last night."

"Sorry guys, here maybe a sugar rush will help that." Caroline apologized as she set down the box. "But I really really needed to see you so that I could tell you something."

"It couldn't wait until later?" Elena asked as she started to dig through the box.

"Well I guess it could have but I didn't think you guys would forgive me if I didn't tell you as soon as possible that…" Caroline said as she held up her hand. "Klaus proposed to me last night and I said yes."

As she looked over the stunned expressions of her friends, Caroline couldn't help but giggle. Their sleep deprived eyes suddenly widened as they focused on her hand where her engagement ring was sitting. Bonnie was the first to react, her face breaking into a large smile as she jumped up to pull her into a hug. "Oh my god, I can't believe it. I'm so happy for you Care, for both of you."

The two friends laughed and hugged before Elena spoke up. "Don't hog her now Bon, I want a hug too."

Bonnie released their friend so that Elena could step in and take over the hug. As the brunette squeezed her tightly, she murmured. "Congratulations Caroline, I'm happy for you."

Caroline pulled back then and looked Elena in the eyes, trying to read if she was being sincere or not. While her and Elena had made up months ago from their argument about hers and Klaus' relationship, she knew her friend still had her issues with it. Not that she ever said anything to Caroline directly but she knew they were there. "Really?"

"Yes, really. I know I haven't been the most supportive in the past but, I don't know, seeing the two of you lately has alleviated my worries about the whole thing, that he could be using you, especially now." Elena said in defense. "A guy who just wants s… um."

"The word you're looking for is sex Elena." Sheila spoke up when she saw the brunette starting to stammer and blush at what she had almost said in front of the older woman. She smiled playfully at her. "I might be old but I'm well aware that people who are not married have sex. And I don't blame Caroline one bit, a woman has needs so why would she not want to sleep with that good looking man of hers?"

Sheila looked over at Caroline with raised eyebrows, but she was speechless. "Oh come on girls, your generation is not the first to practice premarital sex, including my own I'm happy to say."

"Grams!" Bonnie exclaimed in both embarrassment and surprise. "I thought Gramps was the only man for you."

"Oh he was sweetie, but that doesn't mean that we were lovers before we were married." Sheila answered. "If we'd waited much longer to say our 'I dos' your mother would have been in attendance at the wedding."

Caroline couldn't help but burst into laughter at the look of abject horror on her friend's face at her grandmother's statement, which of course earned her a glare from Bonnie. "Oh Bon, lighten up."

"Can we talk about something else please?" Bonnie requested.

"So tell us how he did it Caroline." Elena stated. "Did he do the whole romantic thing or was it spur of the moment?"

Caroline smiled at the change of topic and quickly launched into a recount of how Klaus had proposed as well as their chat in front of the fireplace later on when she had declared her wish to adopt the twins.

"Well those kids are very lucky to have a woman like you for a mother Caroline." Sheila acknowledged. "And you will be a wonderful one to them."

Bonnie nodded in agreement to her grandmother's statement, "Thanks guys. I hope so. I feel like they are my own already, I just wanted to make it official you know? I know it's just a piece of paper but I don't want anyone saying they aren't mine."

"And that's what makes you a good mother for them." Sheila stated.

"Don't be mad but are you sure Caroline?" Elena asked. "I mean don't get me wrong I know you love them and they love you but what if something was to happen down the road and you and Klaus aren't together anymore? I'm happy for you but no couple goes into a marriage thinking that they could get divorced down the road."

"I know that," Caroline declared trying not to sound angry. She wasn't really, okay maybe a little because Elena was raining down on her parade but she also knew that her friend was trying to be practical as well. "But even if we did go down that road, I wouldn't be divorcing the twins. And if something even worse happened, like to Klaus, I wouldn't want anyone coming and trying to take those kids away from me."

Elena nodded at her answer. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a rain cloud. It's just a big responsibility, adopting two children."

"You're right, it is. And it's one that I'm looking very forward to embracing." Caroline affirmed.

"Can you adopt them?" Bonnie asked. "I mean I know you told us when you first started working there that Klaus has full custody of the twins but what exactly does that mean in regards to his ex-wife? Can she contest you adopting them?"

After picking out one of the forgotten pastries from the box, Caroline shook her head. "No, she can't. She no longer has any legal rights to them. When she disappeared, Klaus filed for divorce and full custody, then a few years later once he could show the courts that she had truly abandoned them, he filed to have her parental rights revoked."

"Can they do that without her knowing?" Elena questioned. "I mean you said before that he never looked for her."

"He didn't. When he was going through the proceedings, the courts demanded that she be notified but Klaus stated that he had not had any contact with her since she left. So instead, they posted it in the newspaper as well as sent papers to the last known address that the government had on file for her. She didn't appear in court so they granted Klaus' petition. All we have to do is file the paperwork and go through the steps." Caroline informed them. "According to what I saw online, it can take a while so I'm hoping to start when we get back along with planning the wedding."

"Oh please, as if you don't already have it all planned out." Bonnie teased. "Elena and I went to the Senior Prom you planned remember? We knew it was just a rehearsal for your future wedding."

"Hey!" Caroline snapped. "It was not."

"Regardless if it was or wasn't, we both know you have been planning your wedding since you were a little girl Care." Elena stated.

"Okay, you've got me. I did always dream about having a big wedding and had planned out a lot of it." Caroline acquiesced. "But I don't know, I don't think I want it as big as that now. Certainly not as big as Rebekah's, I just don't feel like that's me so much anymore."

Bonnie and Elena were surprised by her response before Bonnie asked. "So what are you thinking of then?"

"Well before we start talking dresses, there's something I wanted to talk to you guys about first." Caroline said before she commenced telling them something that had been rolling around in her mind.

/

Klaus had only been awake for a few minutes before he heard whispers coming from the other side of the door or at least what the twins thought were whispers. There were times when they really could speak without being overheard but now was not one of those times as they stood on the other side of the door while they argued for a few minutes about whether they should wake him up. Deciding to surprise them, he closed his eyes when he saw the doorknob starting to turn, pretending to be asleep.

Lexi poked her head through the doorway and looked towards the bed, surprised to see just her dad lying there still asleep. She looked around the room including through the bathroom door but didn't see Caroline anywhere. She pulled her head back enough to look at Henry, "Dad's still in bed but I don't see Caroline."

Henry shrugged. They had planned to wake both of them up but this worked too. "You go first, then me."

Lexi nodded before she pushed the door in slowly and crept inside. Her dad could be grumpy in the mornings, not mean, but cranky sometimes and she didn't want him to be in a bad mood before they went to the party or it might keep them from being allowed to do something there. But they were both hungry and knew that they weren't supposed to get into the kitchen here without permission.

Henry followed behind her as she made her way to her dad's side of the bed. She looked at her brother to see if he was going to do the waking or if he wanted her to. She hoped Henry would do it but he quickly shook his head. Rolling her eyes, she reached out to shake her father's shoulder when suddenly he jumped up from the bed, wrapped his arms around both of them and yanked them back down with him.

Before their surprise could wear off, the twins erupted in giggles as their dad started to tickle them. "Dad, stop! Daddy, stop!"

"What do you two think you are doing huh? Thinking you could surprise me?" Klaus asked, not relenting a bit on his attack causing the twins to squeal louder until they were breathing hard from laughter.

"We give! We give!" Henry and Lexi yelled, causing Klaus to finally relent. He kept his arms around them, holding them close as they caught their breath.

"I told you it was a bad idea to wake him up." Henry huffed.

"You did not. You said that we should wake up Caroline first but she isn't here." Lexi argued. "Where is she, Dad?

"She went to see Bonnie and Elena; she wanted to tell them about us getting married." Klaus explained, remembering from Caroline's note about where she had gone off to. "She said she wouldn't be long but I don't think she'll be back that soon if they start talking about wedding details. So you guys are stuck with just me."

"That's fine, we don't mind." Lexi replied as she snuggled closer to him.

"Well I'm glad to hear that." Klaus stated. "Did you guys just get up?"

Both kids nodded but it was Henry who spoke. "We were hungry for breakfast."

"Ah, that explains the wakeup call then." He commented. "Well let's go on down to the kitchen and see what we can find shall we?"

The three of them trekked down to the kitchen where Klaus began to make them some breakfast. It was odd doing it in a strange kitchen but before long he'd gotten what he needed. As he worked, the twins sat nearby.

"Dad?" Lexi called. "When are you and Caroline going to have the wedding? When we get back? I hope so."

"Oh no sweetheart, not that soon. Weddings take time; remember from your aunt's wedding?" Klaus answered. He was delighted that the twins were so enthusiastic for them to get married. When he had decided to propose, he considered talking to them about it but had decided against it so as to keep it a secret. He had been almost one hundred percent sure that Henry and Lexi would be all for the idea of him asking Caroline to marry him but having confirmation was a load off of his mind.

"Maybe you guys can get married on Valentine's day like Aunt Bekah and Uncle Stefan did." Lexi said excitedly. "I can wear my red dress again."

"Even if we could get a wedding planned that fast, I don't think your Aunt Bekah would like to share her anniversary. Besides, we'll be getting you a new dress, in whatever colors we pick out." Klaus explained though he had a feeling it would be more Caroline doing the choosing but he still planned to participate and had told her as much last night when they had discussed a few details. His first wedding had been very small and minimal and he could have cared less. Looking back on it, he wondered if that had been a sign, not that he would have changed things. If he did he wouldn't have the twins and then later Caroline. Nevertheless, this time the wedding was going to be brilliant, if only because of the woman he was going to be marrying.

Henry's face scrunched down into a frown. "Does this mean I'm going to have to wear those horrible shoes and uncomfortable clothes again? Can't we just wear jeans?"

Klaus laughed at the look of disgust on his son's face. "I don't think that would go over well."

"Figures." Henry grumbled before his face brightened. "But there will be cake again right?"

"Yes, there will be cake." Klaus answered with a laugh. "As a matter of fact, there will be lots of cake because we'll have to do some tastings to find out what kind we like."

"Tastings?" Henry repeated. "Like the samples at the grocery store?"

Klaus chuckled, "Kind of but bigger. We'll be doing samples of the regular food too."

"Wicked." Henry grinned. "Then tell Caroline that I volunteer to help with that part of the wedding."

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled to have your very selective palette there to help her." Klaus teased before glancing at his daughter, who was chewing on her bottom lip, a habit she had picked up from a certain other blonde. "What is it Lexi?"

"Do you think we should get Caroline another present?" She asked.

"What makes you ask that?" Klaus wondered.

"Well when we got that for her, it was before we found out that she was going to be our mom. I just thought maybe we should get something…better." Lexi explained.

"Lexi, I think what you guys already have for her under the tree at home is just fine, perfect even because the two of you thought of it on your own and she will love it for that reason alone. With parents, it's not the amount of presents that we get from our children but the thought that goes into them." Klaus clarified. "But I do think it's sweet that you were worried about it."

"When do we get to start calling her mom?" Henry asked. "Do we have to wait until you get married?"

Klaus took a moment to consider the answer. Thinking of Caroline's request the night before in regards to adopting the twins and becoming their legal mother, he didn't think she would have any issues with them calling her by that title right away but he wondered if they shouldn't ease into it until the wedding. "I don't have an answer for you; I don't think that she would mind but maybe the four of us should talk about it?"

He could tell it wasn't the exact answer that they had been looking for but it was a good enough one to placate them, at least for the moment. Turning off the stove, Klaus walked over to them and the three of them tucked in.

/

Caroline couldn't remember a year when she hadn't attended the Winter Wonderland party that took place in the center of town. It had always seemed so much fun, even with the cold and snow; she didn't know if it was the lights that seemed to double in their twinkle because of reflecting off the snow or what but it seemed almost supernatural. Yet none of the previous years compared to this one, the first one where she got to share it with Klaus and the kids.

Despite having grown up in a big city like Boston and traveling to many countries, the twins still gaped in awe at the spectacle of Christmas decorations that the square became when they arrived and wanted to do everything they could right at that second. Klaus, Caroline and her mother of course indulged them, while also saying hello and making introductions to various people that they came across that Caroline had grown up with. The Gilberts and Saltzmans were there and of course Ms. Sheila who surprised Klaus by pulling him into a full hug while winking at Caroline about how good looking her fiancée was, which of course then led to talks about their news.

However after the first couple of hours, Caroline was ready to head into the Grill to warm up a bit and take a look at the items for the silent auction fundraiser.

"But you said we could go into the ice maze next." Henry complained.

"And we can sweetie, but I want to take a quick peek inside first." Caroline explained. "Then we'll go do the maze."

"Then the line will be longer." Lexi argued.

"Why don't I take them while you and Klaus go inside?" Liz suggested. "Then maybe all of you can go again after you're done?"

"Are you sure mom?" Caroline asked tentatively, she didn't want to impose on her mother.

"Of course, I've already seen everything inside anyways; I had to come by to deliver a few things for the auction a few days ago." Liz explained.

"You did? I didn't know you donated anything." Caroline stated.

"I didn't, I was helping out someone." Liz replied casually. "What do you say kids? How many dead ends do you think we'll hit before we find the exit?"

Caroline watched as her mother led the twins away and towards the maze, Bonnie's words about her taking the grandmother roll to heart flittering through her mind. It was funny that she mentioned that just days before things led to where she was going to be their grandmother. Maybe Bonnie was psychic.

"Shall we love?" Klaus asked, his voice breaking into her thoughts. She looked over and saw he had his arm out for her to take, which she did quickly. "Yes."

She directed him towards the Grill, and they quickly went inside. Despite being in town for a few days, this was their first trip to the local bar since they had been too busy with her family to eat out but she had told Klaus many times about the place. He looked around and saw that the description was pretty much what Caroline had told him. "Why don't I get us a drink while we look you around?"

"Um, sure."

"How about some champagne? To match the festive atmosphere?" Klaus suggested, to which Caroline smiled and nodded. As he headed to the bar to procure the drinks, Caroline started looking around at the auction items. The typical items were there; gift baskets from local businesses or donated nights at various vacation cottages, as well as a few antiques and paintings, two of which looked very familiar to her.

"Here you go." Klaus said as he appeared by her side.

Looking from the painting to him, her eyes widened. "This is one of yours, so is that one. I recognize them from your studio."

Klaus nodded. "They are."

"You never mentioned that you were planning to do this." Caroline stated.

"When you mentioned the party when we started planning our trip here, I looked it up online and saw that there was a charity auction that was open for donations. Once I saw that the charity was to help raise money for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant's scholarship I decided to send some of my work with the hopes of raising some money. Your mother was gracious enough to handle the delivery for me."

"I knew about the charity, it's why I wanted to see what was being auctioned, I was Miss Mystic Falls." Caroline informed him only to see a small smile on his face.

"I know." Klaus acknowledged pausing for a moment as the realization sunk in for her that he had remembered that small bit of her past during one of their late night talks. "It's why I did it, not to earn your favor but because I know that the scholarship that you received helped you to acquire your dreams, which I think all young people should be able to do."

Caroline moved her glass out of the way so that she could lean forward and kiss him lightly on the mouth. "You know, sometimes I think you're too good to be true."

"I believe the same thing about you too love, quite often." Klaus replied as he kissed her again chastely before he stepped back a little, his face grinning as if he had another secret. "I must say, when talking with your mother about the whole project, it made me understand that you have always been a force to be reckoned with when it comes to organizing things and helping others."

Caroline watched over her flute as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a piece of white paper, opening it before reading. "After all how else could someone so young be 'Chair of the Mystic Falls Beautification Committee' and the 'Director of the Policeman's Yearly Raffle.' …"

Nearly choking on her champagne, she looked at him with wide eyes, horrified by what she thought he might be reading off of, "Is that my Miss Mystic application? Where did you get that?!"

However, instead of answering her, Klaus just continued to read, chucking a bit as he did. 'When I am chosen I intend to redefine excellence…Now, I'm really enjoying your use of when here. It's very confident."

Caroline glared at him as she placed her drink down and tried to grab it from him but Klaus was quicker and got it out of her reach and he went on.

"And above all, I promise to aspire, inspire, and perspire…" Klaus recited before looking up at her. "Obviously, we found a shortage of words ending in spire."

"Yeah, it's very funny. You're going to think it's so funny when you are sleeping on my mother's couch tonight." Caroline threatened.

"Oh Caroline, I think if it's anyone, you'll be the one to sleep on the couch. After all who do you think my inside source was to acquire this piece of paper, hmmn?" He asked.

"My mother gave that to you? That traitor." She professed as she made another quick reach for it only to have him grab her around the waist to hold her off. She thought of trying to distract him in a way that was not for the public eyes when suddenly she heard her mother's voice yelling to her. She turned in time to see her and Lexi running towards them, a panicked look in her eyes. "Mom, what's wrong?"

"It's Henry, we can't find him."

/

As Henry looked around at all of the people, he didn't recognize anyone. He didn't know what happened, he had just walked away from Sheriff Liz for a minute to get a closer look at the maze but when he got back, she and his sister were just gone. He wondered if maybe he had been gone longer than a minute. He had called out their names but no one replied, most of the people just stared at him before turning away and it occurred to him that he was lost.

Though he had never gotten lost before, Henry knew what to do and tried not to be scared. Remembering what his father had told him and Lexi before, he looked around until he spotted the person he was looking for just a little bit away. It was a tall blonde man, dressed in a uniform just like Sheriff Liz, who smiled as he approached. "Hey buddy, what can I do for you?"

"Um, I think I'm lost." Henry told him. "We were waiting to go into the ice maze but then I went to go look at it closer and when I came back they were gone and…"

"Slow down buddy, its okay, we'll find them. What's your name?"

"My name is Henry Mikaelson."

"Do you live nearby? Maybe they went to look for you at home." The deputy asked.

Henry shook his head. "No, I live in Boston. My mom grew up here and my grandma is the Sheriff and we are visiting her."

The deputy looked at him bewildered for a moment. "Your grandmother is Sheriff Forbes?"

Henry nodded. "Yep, that's her. She was taking my sister and me into the maze."

"Okay, hang on just a minute and I can get her, no problem." The deputy assured him as he pulled out his phone and started to dial. After a couple of rings, the other end picked up. "Hello Sheriff Forbes, I have a little boy here who…yes ma'am, right away."

The deputy looked down at Henry and smiled. "Come on, she ordered me to take you over to the Grill, she said everyone is waiting for us there."

Henry nodded before he took the deputies' hand and followed him to his parents.

/

Caroline watched her mom talk on the phone with baited breath before she hung up. "Its okay, one of my deputies already found him and is bringing him here."

"Oh thank god." Klaus breathed out. Liz had just finished telling them about how Henry had gotten separated and they were heading out to search everywhere for him when her phone had rung. "Is he okay?"

"I didn't ask, but since the deputy called me, he had to know who Henry was so that's a good sign." Liz assured him. "I am so sorry."

"It's okay, Mom. It's not like you meant for this to happen." Caroline said as her eyes scanned the crowd anxiously looking for a familiar head of curls. "Which deputy was it?"

Before she could answer, Caroline's eyes caught sight of Henry and she and Klaus rushed forward, as he ran to them. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to get lost, I just wanted to see the maze."

"I know sweetie." Caroline said as she hugged him before he did the same to Klaus.

"But I did what you said; I found a police officer and told him I was lost." Henry explained.

"You did well son." Klaus said as he tried to reassure him.

"Thank you so much for bringing him to find us, it means…" Caroline said as she watched the two for a moment, not looking at the deputy until the last minute, shocked to see who it was. "Matt?"

"Hey Caroline." Matt greeted. "And it's no problem, it's just my job."

"Since when?" Caroline asked.

"Matt just joined the department a few months ago." Her mother informed her. Caroline could see a little bit of not exactly guilt but something in her mother's eyes, most likely for not telling her that she was her ex-boyfriend's boss. She didn't really care, but it would be nice to know.

Klaus watched the scene as Lexi started chastising Henry for wandering off without her and he realized exactly who the deputy was and how Caroline knew him. It was her ex-boyfriend, the same one she had been in the accident with years before that had changed her life, who was now responsible for helping them find Henry. Unable to help himself, he studied the man. He was around the same height as himself, with light blonde hair and broad shoulders. Klaus remembered vaguely Caroline telling him that Matt had been the quarterback for their high school team and it didn't surprise him a bit; he looked very all-American, boy next door. Klaus felt a twinge of jealousy, after all this man had held and touched Caroline and he didn't want to think of anyone but himself doing he quickly brushed it off, he knew that Caroline loved him and was committed to them. This man was just a part of her past.

"Oh, that's nice." Caroline commented before looking back at Klaus. "Um, Klaus this is Matt Donovan, we grew up together and used to date. Matt, this is Klaus Mikaelson, my fiancée, Lexi, and you've met Henry."

"Nice to meet you all." Matt said cordially.

"Dad, can I have some hot chocolate or some milk?" Henry requested.

"Sure, and maybe something to eat as well." Klaus agreed before he turned towards Matt. "Thank you, again for your help."

"Not a problem." Matt stated before he nodded at them. "Enjoy the rest of the party; hopefully it will be a little less exciting."

Klaus leaned over and brushed a kiss on Caroline's cheek before he pulled away. "We'll be at a table when you're done love."

Caroline nodded in surprise as he took the twins and led them away towards the area of the restaurant that was still waiting on customers. She was taken aback a little at his departure, but appreciated it. She hadn't talked to Matt, or even seen him in years even when she'd come home to visit.

Matt also watched as Klaus departed with the kids and smiled at her. "I can see you were surprised about the uniform, I didn't know if your mom had told you or not."

"She hadn't." Caroline told him. "I'm surprised; you never talked about wanting to be a cop."

"I never thought about it until a few months ago. I was trying to get Vick into rehab again and her counselor said that sometimes you couldn't help those who didn't want your help. It got me thinking of giving up construction and taking a job where I could help people."

"Well you definitely did that." She stated, trying not to wince at the sound of his sister's name. While she didn't blame Matt for what happened, despite the fact that he had been the one driving, she did hold Vicki responsible. If she hadn't of gotten all strung out that night and grabbed Matt, causing him to wreck. And it sounded like she hadn't gotten any better over the years though she was pleased to hear that Matt was trying to make a better life for himself. "I can't thank you enough for bringing Henry back."

Matt just shrugged. "I didn't do much, he found me, told me his name and that his grandmother was the Sheriff, he's a smart kid."

"Yes, he is. More than you know." Caroline boasted as she looked over at the table where Henry was sitting.

"I must say I was surprised when he said that his grandmother was the Sheriff, I wasn't expecting to hear someone refer to Sheriff Forbes as Grandma, you know considering." Matt stated before his eyes widened as he realized what he had said. "I'm sorry Care, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay Matt." She assured him, knowing he thought that he was hurting her by reminding her of damages she had sustained from the accident.

"I had heard from your mom that you were seeing a guy who was a single dad but I didn't know you guys were engaged." Matt said. "I'm happy for you, you have a nice family."

"Yeah, they're great." Caroline agreed. "And I'm glad that you found something that means a lot to you, a rewarding career can do a lot for you."

"Yes, it can." Matt replied. "I better get back out to my post. Bye Caroline."

"Bye." She said as she watched him go. Though she had come to terms with the accident years ago, and never blamed Matt for it as he walked away, Caroline felt a deep sense of closure settle over her. That part of her life was gone and buried; it was her new life she wanted to focus solely on.

With that thought firmly in her mind, Caroline looked around the restaurant until she spotted Klaus, her mother and the twins in one of the booths. She hurried over to them and kissed the top of Henry's head before plopping down next to Klaus. Taking in the large mugs in front of them, it was no surprise to Caroline when she saw a bit of whip cream on Lexi's nose. "Enjoying that are you guys?"

"Hmmnn." They both hummed.

"I ordered you one as well." Klaus stated. "I thought about getting you a latte but didn't think you would want the caffeine."

"Good call, I don't think I need any more stimulants." Caroline agreed as she snuggled up to him.

"Everything go okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just fine." Caroline answered. "You okay? I mean that had to be weird knowing everything."

"A bit." Klaus admitted. "But we all have history, I've met Tyler as well before if you recall. Besides, I hardly think an old boyfriend is much of a threat."

"Oh really?" Caroline asked, her eyebrow arched in question. "You seem very convinced of that."

"Why shouldn't I be?" Klaus questioned. "He was your first love; I fully intend to be your last."

Love it? Hate it?