Someday I'll wish upon a star

And wake up where the clouds are far behind me

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Away above the chimney tops

That's where you'll find me

Caroline was in the kitchen when she heard the piercing crying ring through the house. She exhaled deeply trying to gather her patience, and swiftly moved back to the living room to gather the small baby in her arms. While she had planned to use her Friday night for studying purposes as exams were creeping up, she also didn't want to have any run ins at the Grill with either Klaus or Tyler. So when her neighbor asked her to babysit, Caroline couldn't find it in herself to say "no". The small infant, nearly a year old, calmed once Caroline had cradled her in her arms and sang softy, "Somewhere over the rainbow. Way up high there's a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby…" The child seemed to be sated by her soft voice, and Caroline was grateful. She placed her child back into its playpen and moved quickly to her room to gather her materials to study for the night.

It only took a couple seconds, before the doorbell disrupted the peace in the house. Groaning, Caroline moved to door to see a certain hybrids figure standing under the light through the peek hole. Breathing deeply she opened the door and tried to fight the smile at seeing him. It was getting harder every day to fight off her growing feelings for him.

"Evening, love." He was wearing a black Henley, and soft denim jeans with a military style jacket and those necklaces that she hated to love. She took in his appearance with what she hoped was a concealed look of appreciation for a little too long before she realized she hadn't greeted him.

"Klaus. What are you doing here?" She tried to go for a cool and unaffected demeanor, but she knew he could hear the slight tremor in her voice when she said his name.

"Just thought you might care to join me for dinner this evening?" He voice was hopeful and he had the puppy dog look. The same look he had when he asked her to be his date to the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. She hated that look, because it made her feel like agreeing to anything he said.

"I can't." She was being completely honest, Grace's parents were out of town for the night and Caroline was charged with caring for the girl until they returned late tomorrow afternoon. He tilted his head, questioning her and his eyes pierced hers with a look of determination and perseverance.

She opened her mouth to explain, but was cut off by the sound of Grace's piercing cries once again.

"That's why." She gave no further explanation, but moved away from him back into the living room to get the child. She left the door open, knowing that he would follow her inside and no surprise to her he did.

"Gracie girl, why won't you stop crying?" She cooed to the child. She turned around to see the Klaus staring at her. His mouth slightly open and confused as he looked as if she was trying to do a complicated math problem. She laughed at his puzzled expression.

"She's not mine, if that's what your wondering." He looked almost relieved as she said this, but he couldn't stop staring at her and the child.

"What? Never seen a baby before?" She teased. That seemed to break him from his thoughts as he muttered a response in the affirmative that she could barely make out.

Ignoring his weirdness, she sat down on the couch and gently rocked the baby, getting her to settle down once again.

"Babysitting then, I assume?" She nodded in exasperation, wishing she would be able to focus on her homework tonight, but she couldn't turn down the opportunity to care for a child, especially since she didn't have the option to have one of her own. That burning desire that was no longer in her future hurt her more than she had ever admitted to anyone as she longed to be a mother more than anything. When Klaus had asked her if she ever wanted to be human again at the pageant, she had almost told him if he hadn't distracted her with her stolen application.

Without asking for her permission, Klaus sat down in the seat opposite her and looked at her in contemplation as if she was a puzzle he needed to solve.

"So as you can see, I already have a date tonight," she joked and he gave her a pleased smile that was distracting as it was unnerving. Why was he acting like this?

"Mind if I join you then?"

"You wanna babysit with me?" She was incredulous at his question. The Big Bad Hybrid Original himself wanted to help her look after a baby. Had she fallen into some alternate reality?

"I can't join you for a drink obviously, but I could use some help studying for my history final." She admitted, without actually accepting his offer. She gave him a pleading look and to her not surprise he acquiesced. He took her books and study guide off of the table and flipped through it before he started to fire off questions. They went at it back and forth for nearly an hour before she called a time out.

"Have you eaten dinner?" He asked as she moved around the kitchen, preparing Grace's dinner. She had forgotten all about eating when they were studying. She had been so caught up with their heated debates on the rise and fall of communism that she hard ignored her growling stomach.

"I had some blood earlier," she offered back. She didn't fear hurting Grace in her care, but she was craving some good food after the mental workout Klaus had given her. He was relentless and focused, making sure she had correct names, dates, and figures. He seemed determined to also point of the history uncovered by her texts, which fasinated her to no end.

"How about some real dinner?" He queried, his voice casual, yet with a slight hopeful tone.

"You cook?" He gave her an offended look that clearly said, "Darling I've been around for more than a millennium, I think I can handle more than boiling water." She giggled at his expression and waved her hand.

"By all means Lord Mikaelson, have at it." He smirked at her, before starting to rummage through her fridge and cabinets, searching for ingredients. She sat at a chair in the kitchen, feeding Grace from the bottle and she watched him flit around her kitchen, completely in his element. While her mother had never been around most nights, Caroline often had to fend for herself at meals, especially dinner. Take out was preferred choice though she longed for the good home cooking that she would get at her friend's homes. Pushing up his sleeves, Caroline watched the muscles in his arms flexed as he began cutting up some ingredients that were blind to her from her vantage point.

"What are you making?" Her curiosity was ignited as she finished feeding Grace and was trying to burp her, which would hopefully put her on the track to sleeping soon.

"Never ask, it spoils the surprise, sweetheart." He was now putting something in the oven and she was still blind to what he held in his hand. However, as he bent down to place the dish inside, she was not blind to the way his behind looked, and she cursed herself for fighting the desire to grab it. Shaking her head as if to rid herself of these thoughts she failed to notice that he was now the one watching her. She blushed a shade of crimson, and prayed that he couldn't read her thoughts.

"Dinner will be ready in a half hour," he announced, moving around to the table, setting it with two dishes. She nodded and moved out of his way, taking Grace back into the living room to put her back into the playpen, before she let out a wail. Moaning with frustration, she picked the child back up.

"I don't understand her," she said turning to face Klaus. "Every time I put her down for longer than five minutes she starts to cry." She felt like she was failing at being a mother, even if it wasn't her own child. Perhaps this was a sign that she would have made a terrible mother if she were still human.

As if he could read her thoughts, Klaus moved towards them and extended his arms, gesturing that he wanted to hold the child.

"Do you know how to even hold her?" Again, he huffed at her before he gently took the fussing girl out of her arms with such gentleness that she didn't know he was capable of. Caroline watched with fascination and slight jealousy as the child started to calm down and even gurgle happily at the hybrid. She pouted, feeling deficient by comparison.

She had never seen him like this, calm and caring to something so tiny and defenseless. He had shown her a brief glimpse of that side of him the night he saved her from Tyler's bite, but she chalked it up to a fluke in his ever-changing moods. However, the look he was giving this little girl was not only warming her heart, but also arousing her slightly. Perhaps it was just the fact that it was a man holding a child, but Caroline had a sinking feeling that it was because it was him.

He appeared to be humming to her, but it was such a low sound, that she had to strain her ears to hear it. Within minutes, he had gotten her to go to sleep. He moved the playpen into Caroline's room before setting the sleeping child in it. He returned with a baby monitor in hand and moved over to Caroline and wordlessly began to steer her out of the room and back to the kitchen. Leaning against the counter she gazed at him in pure befuddlement.

"How did you do that?" She was burning with questions. Did he have children before he was turned?

"Younger siblings." His reply was so obvious, that she wanted to smack her forehead in stupidity.

"You weren't doing a bad job, if that's what you were worried about," he offered from across the room. He removed the dish from the oven, as it was just about to ping and he didn't want to wake the sleeping child. The heavenly smell of lasagna overcame Caroline and her mouth watered as if it was a Pavlovian response. It smelled delicious. Together they sat at the table and ate in silence before Caroline couldn't take it anymore.

"Is there anything you can't do?" She said after taking another bite. He smiled benignly at her, not granting her an answer.

They started to go over some more history questions before moving on to other topics, both pointedly refusing to talk about Tyler, the Salvatores, or Elena. When they both finished, Caroline insisted on doing the dishes as Klaus had cooked, he refused, but relented enough to be the dish dryer. Together they managed to clean up quickly, but not without getting into a small soap bubble fight like two twelve year olds.

"How come I don't get to see this side of you more often?" She asked, handing him the last plate. He gave her an somber expression before confessing, "When people see good they expect good. And I don't wanna live up to anyone's expectations." She wondered what it was that made him feel this way, but not wanting to cause another fight with him over her sometimes less than sensitive words, she simply nodded and dried her wet hands on a dishtowel.

She moved out of the kitchen, needing some breathing space from his overwhelming presence and moved back into the living room to gather up her scattered books and notes, before placing them in a pile off to the side. She darted around the room, straightening pillows and other mundane tasks before a hand grabbed her stopping her. She looked up at him, and smiled softly, words seeming to escape her once again this evening.

"Relax, Caroline," he lightly scolded before he pulled her down onto the couch with him. He grabbed the discarded remote before flipping the power on. The image frozen on the screen confused him, and he turned to Caroline for clarification.

"We were watching 'Beauty and the Beast' earlier," she admitted sheepishly. He raised an eyebrow at her, intrigued by her tone. "Okay, I was watching it while Grace started off into space," she confessed slightly ashamed. She was old enough to know that watching and still believing fairy tales was still childish, but she couldn't help herself. He chuckled lightly at her tone.

"I guess we should finish it then, love." He restarted the movie, and moved closer to her. She knew she should've called him out on his behavior, but the heat he was giving off was tempting her, and she leaned into him as well.

"Want some popcorn?" She asked. He nodded and grinned boyishly at her, which served only to brighten her own smile.

Klaus seemed entertained by the candlestick the most, and Caroline reveled in his easy laughter at the onscreen antics between him and the clock. As the movie progressed, Caroline felt herself being drawn into his gravitational pull and silently he opened his arm, in an invitation for her to lean against his chest. She accepted it and was lulled into sleep by his even and equal breaths. Before she finally gave into sleep, she swore she felt a brush of his lips against her temple.

As the light from the morning sun seeped into the room, Caroline awoke in her room dazed and confused as to how she got there. She rolled over to see the playpen next to her was void of Grace. Panicking, she rushed into the kitchen to see Klaus sitting at the table, feeding Grace her morning bottle.

"Morning, love." He must have gone home at some point during the night as he was in fresh clothes.

"Morning," she replied surprised at the huskiness in her voice. He chuckled as she blushed in embarrassment.

"How about you change while I make you some breakfast?" He took in her disheveled clothes and hair with pleasure at seeing her out of her usual mask of groomed perfection. She nodded thankfully, and left to shower and change before she embarrassed herself further.

Klaus looked at the child in his arms and felt another pang of sorrow. He had wanted children, both before he had become a vampire, and even more so after he became a hybrid. Seeing Caroline holding the small child her arms yesterday awakened a primal desire that he was still fighting to control. The need to mate was hardwired within him, but procreation was impossible. His insecurities about his relationship father made him doubt he would do the job credibly, however he wished he had the option.

When Caroline came back freshly showered and changed she brought the playpen back into the living room. She noticed that Grace was both changed and bathed as she placed her back in the pen. She was taken back by Klaus's actions; he seemed to be quite the mystery about his attitude with children. Klaus started to prepare eggs, toast, and bacon while Caroline watched on again in fascination, as she had last night.

"You're spoiling me with all this cooking," she teased as he placed her plate in front of her a few minutes later. His boyish grin was back, and in comfortable silence they dug into the meal. After cleaning up the kitchen again, Klaus suggested they take Grace for a walk through the park. Seeing the cloudless sky outside, Caroline readily agreed.

As the walked through the park, they were stopped numerous times by older couples that cooed at the beautiful girl in the carriage and gushed to them, the "parents". After the third time they were stopped, neither Caroline nor Klaus corrected anyone as to their status to each other or to Grace. The scene from an outsider's view must have been something out of cheesy lifetime movie, but Caroline decided there was no harm in living the illusion of being the perfect little family, at least for a little while longer. Losing track of time, Caroline realized that they needed to get back to the house to return Grace to her parent's who were due within the hour. Dejectedly she shared this news with Klaus, and quietly he steered the carriage back to her house.

When Grace's parents came to collect her, Caroline felt so reluctant to let the small girl go, but Klaus's reassuring hand on her shoulder kept her grounded. He studied with her a little while longer after, but Caroline's heart was no longer invested in learning. She was consumed with thoughts of tiny toes and fingers and he way Grace would look at her when she sang to her. At that moment, now more than ever she wished she were human. She tried to fight back the tears, but once a single drop fell, the others came streaming down her face. Immediately Klaus gathered her into his arms and let her cry about the future she no longer had. His gentle strokes on her back, and soothing words calmed her.

Klaus knew it was finally time for him to leave before the Sheriff returned from her night shift and he had officially overstayed his welcome. Caroline walked him to the door, and he gave her a sympathetic smile, before walking out the door. He made it almost to the street when she called out to him.

"Klaus?" He turned around and she sped over to him, not bothering to glance around to see if anyone was watching.

"Yes, Caroline?"

"Thank you. For everything."

She moved onto her tiptoes before placing a searing kiss to his cheek. She blurred back into the house, before he could move or say a word and it wasn't until he heard a car alarm go off in the distance that he was shaken from his stupor. Taking one last glance at the house, Klaus ambled down the street merrily, a tune stuck in his head, the words he whispered under his breath: "Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue. And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true."

Aww! Who wouldnt want to see Klaus with a baby? I needed to write something fluffy after last chapter. I have finals this week so Im not sure if I will be updating as quickly. *Fingers crossed I do well* Read and Review my lovelies, xoxo