Notes: Ooh, some of you are excellent guessers! Don't hate me after this one! Remember, you this will all pass, because I am a happily ever after sort of author. Thanks so much to everyone who's still reading!

Part Twelve: Caroline: Age 23, Klaus: Age 30 (December)

When Klaus flicks the lights on, and a chorus of, "Surprise!" rings out from all corners of his apartment, it's a challenge to smile. He manages it with gritted teeth, casting a look to his side, where Greta, his current girlfriend, is radiating happiness.

"He didn't suspect a thing!" she crows, tugging him down to lay a smacking kiss on his cheek, not seeming to notice Klaus' stiffness. The occupants of the room laugh, and Greta squeezes his arm, saying something about going to get a drink. Klaus struggles not to roll his eyes, to keep his annoyance under wraps. He'd not suspected a thing because anyone who knew him all that well would know that a surprise party was not something he'd ever want, or enjoy. But, in all fairness, his relationship with Greta was fairly new. They'd been exclusive for nearly four months, had seen each other casually for a bit beforehand.

Greta worked for Marcel, was something of a wizard with cocktails. They'd met at the bar, and he'd asked her out after a few weeks of flirting. She was attractive, and pleasant company, for the most part. They had several things in common, and he enjoyed her drive and her directness.

Perhaps he shouldn't be surprised then, that she'd run with a surprise party idea, despite it being the last way he'd choose to celebrate his birthday.

He allowed only a select few people into his home unsupervised, and most of them were related to him by blood.

Speaking of his family, Kol sidesteps a small clump of Klaus' coworkers, a knowing look on his face, speaking in an undertone behind his bottle of beer, when he's near enough to be heard, "Try not to look quite so firmly clenched, Niklaus. Your lovely girlfriend, Gloria, was it? Will begin to suspect that you're positively itching to bark at people to leave."

Klaus doesn't bother to correct Kol's mistake, because he knows he's doing it deliberately. Neither he nor Rebekah had been particularly pleased to make Greta's acquaintance. Rebekah's initial coolness, at a casual lunch, was what Klaus had expected. She'd always been slow to warm to other women. But then she'd been downright cold, at Thanksgiving, when Greta had accompanied him to Mystic Falls, and had made herself scarce lately, despite the fact that she lives only a few blocks over. Klaus assumes that it's because she resents Greta's presence, and he's been meaning to inquire, since she seemed not to be coming around at all.

It was only fair that she unbend, after all. He'd endured her relationship with Marcel, had been almost graceful about it, once he'd grown accustomed. And he'd not even gloated, about their amicable breakup, a few weeks back, despite the urge to do so. Feigning a little civility was the least very Rebekah could do, in Klaus' opinion.

Klaus looks around the room, while he takes off his coat, looking for his sister's familiar blonde head. And when he finds it, he sucks in a short, sharp, breath. Because she's with Caroline, by the windows, conversing with a dark haired man that Klaus has never seen before. And Caroline's about the last person he'd expected to be here.

Kol lets out a chuckle, darkly amused and anticipatory, "Ah, yes. Caroline's here. Apparently Gloria made liberal use of your email contacts. I gather you'd not mentioned Caroline to her? She seems the proprietary sort, digs her claws in deep. I doubt she'd like that she'd unknowingly invited her competition."

Klaus narrows his eyes, filing the first bit of Kol's statement away, pointedly ignoring the second. How Greta knew who to invite had not crossed his mind, until right this moment. And it's another thing that Klaus is going to have to speak to her about.

A quick glance tells him that Greta's in the kitchen, pouring drinks, evidently taking her duties as hostess very seriously. His eyes drift back to Caroline, seeking any changes in her appearance. It's been more than a year since he'd seen her last, much to Klaus' displeasure. She and Rebekah had flown into New York, on their way back from Europe, and he'd collected them, rumpled and exhausted from the airport. They'd commandeered his guest room, for the next twenty four hours, sleeping off the jet lag. He'd treated them to dinner, when they'd emerged, and they'd eagerly regaled him with stories of the things they'd seen and done, elaborating on the things they'd written in emails and postcards and on Facebook. It had been a good night, laughter free and easy. But Caroline had left the next day, had an internship lined up, and her goodbyes with Rebekah had been tearful, and not something Klaus had wanted to intrude on.

A week later Klaus had helped Rebekah move into her apartment (which mostly consisted of reining her in so the moving people she'd hired didn't deliberately smash her belongings out of spite). Caroline had been supposed to come up and help, Rebekah being insanely excited, and full of decorating plans, but she'd been sick and unable to make the trip.

And then they'd just kept missing each other. Caroline's mother had gone to her, to celebrate Thanksgiving, last year. Then the Mikaelson family had spent Christmas and the New Year in Colorado, in order to meet Elijah's new girlfriend, who had a bit of an unpleasant past with the town. Klaus had been forced to skip out on Easter, due to work commitments. And then Caroline had been absent a few weeks ago, choosing to spend Thanksgiving with her father and step-family since her mother had been working.

He still exchanges the odd email from Caroline. She's the sort of girl who takes friendship seriously. Sometimes it's just links, to things she thinks he'd like, or things that amuse her (such as the article about an Australian man who painted with his penis – she'd used the subject line, 'Possible Career Change?!') but they're often little rants about things that are annoying her, or stories about her day, so Klaus is fairly up to date on her life. She'd landed in Chicago, where Kol works, started grad school this past September. It seems as though she and Kol have grown closer, and spend more time together. Kol had even offered to let Caroline live with him, though she'd declined, citing the fact that he'd likely drive her completely insane. Kol occasionally sends Klaus pictures, of him and Caroline, and their various friends, out and about. Klaus isn't entirely sure what the motive is, and is hesitant to press.

Because you never could be entirely certain, with Kol. And he doesn't exactly mind, the random reminders that Caroline's out there, seemingly happy with her life.

Looking at her now, it's hard to remember how much time has passed. Her hair's a bit shorter, the dress perhaps a touch more sophisticated. But physically she remains much the same, and just as lovely as the last time Klaus had seen her. Caroline looks up, perhaps feeling his gaze, and grins, when she sees him. He's just about to go over and say hello, when he hears Greta call his name from the kitchen.

He honestly thinks about ignoring her, for just a second. Kol snorts, evidently sensing his thoughts, and pushes him in Greta's direction. "Go on, Nik. Do your boyfriendly duty. And get me another beer, will you?"

Klaus shoves Kol back, rather more roughly, though it only makes Kol laugh more loudly, and reluctantly makes his way to Greta's side.

He's just turned away from one of his neighbors, having endured more than a few jokes about he was now decrepit, at the 'Big Three-Oh' when he bumps into the bloke he doesn't know, the one who'd been chatting with Caroline and Rebekah. The man offers Klaus an easy smile, "Happy birthday, mate. Hope you don't mind I crashed the party. I'd never been to the city, and Gorgeous insisted I tag along."

Klaus raises an eyebrow, still somewhat lost as to who this man is, and also who, exactly, 'Gorgeous' was. "And you are?" he asks expectantly.

"Enzo," comes the easy reply, not a trace of offense evident. "Caroline's roommate."

Klaus shakes the offered hand, dredging up what he knows about the man Caroline lives with. Caroline's not dropped very many details that he can recall. Klaus remembers Rebekah prattling on about finding him annoying, after her first visit to the apartment Caroline shared. But Klaus knew that Enzo got on with Kol reasonably well. Likely because Kol was also annoying. Caroline had come to live with him by happenstance, as Enzo had been a university friend of Damon Salvatore's who'd needed someone to move into his extra room on short notice.

No one had thought to mention to Klaus that he was good looking, accented, and seemingly charming.

Something that makes him suspicious, as that seems like exactly the sort of thing Kol would harp on and on about. Sure enough, when he looks past Enzo, Kol is watching them speak, a look of rabid interest on his face. He turns away quickly, and not at all subtly, when he spies Klaus looking.

Klaus ducks down, reaches under the counter and unearths a bottle of bourbon, "Care for a drink?" he asks. "It's better then what's out, I assure you."

Because it's only reasonable, that he confirms that Caroline's roommate is on the up and up, isn't it? Both Rebekah and Kol have somewhat questionable taste in people.

Enzo nods, and Klaus opens the cupboard and pulls out two actual glasses, because proper liquor shouldn't be drunk out of plastic cups. Enzo takes the offered drink, eying Klaus knowingly. "Is this the part where you grill me about my intentions? Because I've had this conversation before." Enzo gives an exaggerated shiver, "Your brother's threats were impressively creative, and your sister's quite terrifying, I'll have you know."

Klaus does, and he feels a little moment of pride, for Rebekah. Enzo continues, "It's lovely that she's got honorary siblings, but I've no intention of messing with Caroline in any way. I've grown quite fond of her."

It's difficult not to choke, at Enzo's categorization of his and Caroline's relationship. Of all the things he's thought of Caroline, over the years, none of them had ever been anything close to familial. The bourbon stings a little, as it goes down. Klaus sets his glass aside, meeting Enzo's eyes. And is surprised to find them measuring, like he's weighing Klaus' responses carefully. Klaus tilts his head, "Why is it that I feel like you're the one with threats on his mind, mate?"

Enzo takes a long drink, but grins, afterwards, "You're smarter than Kol gives you credit for, you know? I'd suspected as much. Gorgeous likes pretty and dumb, in a fling, but it's not enough to hold her interest."

There's a little tightening in his gut, a hot flash of jealousy, at the casual reference to flings Caroline might be having. Klaus pushes it away, before it can take root. He's been far from celibate, has no claim on Caroline, and he'd be the worst sort of hypocrite for taking issue with her dalliances.

She's beautiful, and her schedule seems jam packed, with work and school commitments. He'll not begrudge her a little fun.

"And what's Kol been telling you?" Klaus asks, a demanding edge to the question. Because it was one thing for Kol to get his digs in, for his own amusement, in private, quite another for him to be telling tales.

"Nothing, actually. I asked him. Caroline got a little tipsy, at the end of a rough week. Overshared, a bit. I was curious."

Klaus is about to dig deeper, curious as to what exactly Caroline had shared, but he sees someone coming, and glances up. It's Caroline, a wary look on her face as she looks back and forth between the two of them. The exaggeratedly innocent expression Enzo's adopted likely sets off warning bells in her head. "I see you two have met," she says neutrally, elbowing Enzo gently, before nodding in his direction. "Happy birthday, Klaus."

"Thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate you coming."

"And I'll just leave you two to chat," Enzo interjects. "Find me when you're ready to leave, Caroline. I was promised dreadful tourist traps tomorrow, and I intend to collect."

Enzo wanders off, snagging Greta by the arm, and beginning to speak animatedly, effectively monopolizing her attention. And Klaus might just like the man, after all.

Caroline sidles over, takes Enzo's discarded glass, "So, scale of one to ten," she asks knowingly, "just how much did you hate being surprised?"

"Ten," Klaus answers instantly. "And a half."

Caroline lets out an amused hum, "Thought so. There was a brief flash of your 'I'll kill you all' face when you realized what was happening."

Klaus laughs, genuinely, for the first time that evening. "Funny, I was not aware I had a homicidal face."

"You hid it quickly," Caroline assures him, with a faux sympathetic pat to his arm. "I doubt many people noticed."

He finds he doesn't much care. "How have you been, Caroline?" Klaus asks, turning to face her, and leaning against the counter.

"Fine," she answers. "Busy, but I like that. My classes are great, and I actually really like my job, most days."

"And you get along with your roommate, it seems?"

It may be fishing, but Caroline doesn't call him on it. She merely nods enthusiastically, "Enzo's the best, seriously. Always lets me pick the take out place, and while I wouldn't say he has no irritating habits, they're all livable. Way better than that nightmare psych student I lived with in Richmond."

"You lived with Bekah for years," Klaus teases. "Surely no one could be worse than her?"

Caroline grimaces, "Oh, mini-Freud totally was. Trust me. Always wanted to talk about my father. And the latent resentment I apparently hold that's keeping me from unlocking my true potential."

Klaus hides a grin, at the blatant distaste in her words and expression. He's honestly surprised they both survived unscathed. He can't imagine Caroline being graceful about someone questioning her potential, or her family. "I do trust you, love. And that certainly explains why you were so eager to return to school. Ahead of schedule, if I recall correctly."

"My parents and my aunts were a little more generous with their graduation presents then I was expecting. And tips are really good, at the bar I was working at. I snagged a killer scholarship. Things just kind of fell into place," Caroline tells him, with a shrug.

He's happy for her, pleased that the little traces of the girl who'd been so uncertain, scared of what the future may hold, have melted away. He's about to tell her so, when he feels an arm looping around his waist, a familiar hand pressed low on his abdomen. Caroline's eyes flicker down uncertainly, and she rocks back a step, as Greta presses herself to Klaus' side.

Klaus clears his throat, suddenly uncomfortable, and makes the necessary introductions, "Greta, this is my friend, Caroline. Caroline, Greta."

Greta smiles, warm and just the smallest bit assessing, "And how do you two know each other?" she asks, looking up at Klaus.

"From Mystic Falls," Caroline answers. "We…"

"Oh, you're Rebekah's little friend! I saw pictures at Thanksgiving. God, you two were adorable," Greta gushes. The polite smile on Caroline's face dims.

"Are adorable, thank you very much," Rebekah corrects haughtily, having come upon the tail end of the conversation. She spies the bottle Klaus had left on the counter, snatching it up. "And of course you're hiding the good booze, Nik. Mother would be appalled." She pours more into the glass Caroline was still holding, before taking it for herself. "Not that I blame you, with this crowd of dullards."

Greta stills, and the smile on her face becomes strained. "Be nice, Bekah," Caroline chides, with an uneasy glance around. "These are your brother's friends, right?"

Rebekah scoffs, "No, they're not. Nik doesn't really do friends, as you know. And of the few he has none of them, save maybe you, are actually here."

It's a fairly accurate statement. Most of the party's attendees are people Klaus works with, people from the building. A couple of Greta's friends, whom he tolerated well enough. No one he dislikes, but no one he'd have a drink with voluntarily, either.

Caroline looks distinctly uncomfortable, and Klaus rather wishes he weren't apart of this conversation either. Or, at the very least, he wasn't having it in a crowded room.

Rebekah seems to be on a roll, continuing snidely, "And I could have perhaps told you this was a terrible idea, Greta-dear, had you asked, before sending that mass invitation, a month ago."

That explained Rebekah's shift from guardedly cool to arctic coldness. Not being consulted would be enough of a blow to her ego, but having something planned, that she knew Klaus would dislike, and then being invited via email? A parade of offenses, to Rebekah.

There's a bit of a stare off, happening between Rebekah and Greta, and Klaus gropes for something to break it. Caroline beats him to it, looping her arm through Rebekah's and forcing a sunny smile, "Can you show me where the bathroom is, Bekah?" she asks sweetly.

Rebekah's expression turns disbelieving, because she's well aware of the number of times Caroline has been in his apartment, "What? How much have you had to drink, Caroline? It's…"

Caroline hauls Rebekah away, waving over her shoulder, and the rest of Rebekah's sentence is lost to the party din.

Greta's silent for a long moment, a nail tapping on the edge of her cup. "So, your sister hates me, huh?"

"Don't take it personally. Rebekah hates just about everyone."

She cracks a smile, though the joke had been weak. She takes a deep breath, studying Klaus closely, "And you hate this party, don't you?"

Klaus considers lying, but knows there's no point. "I don't like surprises. Never have."

"Everybody says that," Greta points out.

"I'm not in the habit of saying things I don't mean."

She sighs, "Well. Then I guess I should say that I'm sorry."

Klaus nods his acceptance, and she leaves his side without another word. But he's not alone for long, and he doesn't even have to look over to know that it's Kol next to him, or that his brother's itching to say something. "Spit it out, Kol," Klaus demands impatiently.

"Any chance you could hold off breaking up with her? I had New Year's, in the pool. And if you do it before then Elijah wins, and I think we can both agree that he doesn't need another reason to be smug."

Klaus grits his teeth, and tops up his drink. He doesn't dignify Kol's inquiry with a reply, as he walks away.

Next up: A holiday in Mystic Falls...