Now, I think I know how I want this Fanfiction to end and I'm pretty happy. It's not over yet, but I know how I am going to end it. Please vote and review :)

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KLAUS

He picked up his cell and flipped it open, staring at the blank screen. Klaus wouldn't admit it out loud to himself but he dreaded calling Stefan, and returning his memories to him. He knew better than to think Caroline would want to stay there, in the city for him. Klaus had thought he'd resisted any feelings of hope for it. That he'd suppressed it, but now he felt the disappointment of knowing it couldn't be.

He silently cursed.

At what moment had he allowed that hope to slip through?

With a deep breath, he selected his contacts on his phone. Klaus was revolted to also find that he'd debated on whether or not to fall through on the agreement to restore his memories. But he knew the consequences of that would hurt Caroline and destroy every decent action he'd ever committed. So his fingers selected the Salvatore's number and he hit send, before he could convince himself to do anything otherwise.

"Stefan, Mate," Klaus said, once the vampire answered. "Come to my apartment. I have something to return to you."

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"He's on his way," Klaus said, strolling back into the living room. I'd returned downstairs after changing and taming my hair, taking a seat on the couch while I waited. My thumbs twiddled together in anxious movements and I tried to breathe over the tense air.

Something had changed. That much I knew.

"Thanks," I said to him, rising to my feet. I couldn't sit still anymore, waiting for him to say something. But he just nodded, his eyes trailed on me. That mask he always wore was back, his expression fathomless. "My pleasure."

I had a sneaking suspicion it was anything but.

"Anyway, I should....," my voice drifted off as I looked around the room, realizing there was little I had to do. It wasn't as if there was much indication that a woman was here; no toiletries or feminine stuff I had to pack away. And I suddenly found myself feeling sad at how empty this place really looked. I wondered if he saw it, too.

"So...." I started again, feeling abruptly uncomfortable and awkward. I grappled for something to say in an effort to stifle the silence. "You've got a kid?" I blurted out.

Bad topic choice.

He took a breath, as if searching for the right words. "I do. But we do not really need to discuss that."

I chewed on the inside of my lip, feeling stupid. I was about to make this worse, I knew it. But my curiosity reined and with it, an underlying bit of hurt I couldn't explain.

"With Haley?"

His mouth pressed together in a thin line as he stared at his glass of liquor. But he nodded nonetheless. "Yes, Caroline. Haley is the mother of my child."

I felt some pinch inside me, like having him reiterate what I already knew made it worse. I struggled to pinpoint why it bothered me so much. I wouldn't deny my attraction to Klaus but the more I dug into what I was feeling, the more I realized it wasn't just hurt.

It was hot, fiery anger.

I tried to quell my feelings and inject what I hoped was support in my voice. "That's good," I said. "I mean that you have....that....with someone."

"You sound indignant."

Well, so much for that. I shook my head instantly, tossing in a very false laugh which I so wanted to sound blasé. "No," I said. "No I'm happy for you. It's important to have people you care about."

"Your attempt at small talk is painful, Love," he said, still wearing that empty expression. I looked away, mentally kicking myself for my inability to lie smoothly. Sometimes honesty had its disadvantages.

"What?" I asked defensively. "I'm just....asking about your life."

"You seem offended that I appear to have moved on, Caroline," he said plainly, giving me a dark look. "If I recall, you wanted me to never come back. I kept my promise. It is hardly something that you should be angry for."

"I'm not angry!" I instantly yelled, and then ground my teeth together to shut myself up. I took a calming breath. "I know you left and that's because I told you to. You're not under obligation to answer to anyone and totally free to procreate as you wish."

The word left a bad taste in my mouth and I wanted to pull it back and swallow it. Did I really just apply the word procreate to Klaus?

He stared back at me, that dark look still shadowing his eyes. "I'm elated to have your approval."

I nodded and crossed my arms, wishing I could quiet whatever emotion it was that made me want to simultaneously reach out and touch him and kick him in the shin. "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bag to pack." I actually didn't, but this atmosphere was starting to get to me. I turned on my heel and whipped around. He materialized in front of me, my bag in his hand. He dropped it by my side. "Done."

My already delicate temper spiked. So now he wanted me out. Fine. I was completely okay with that; relieved in fact. Everything he'd done was over. He had a kid now. And the woman he'd had the kid with and that was something I could never compete with; had little desire to, even. His confessions were just that. They weren't something to act or be acted upon which was fine by me.

So then why did it hurt so much?

"Thank you," I grasped the handles of the bag.

His hand suddenly shot out and gripped them too. "Just tell me one thing," he breathed, pulling the luggage slightly toward him. "Why should it bother you?"

I rolled my eyes and tightened my hold on the bag. "It doesn't."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Yes you are. And I want to know why."

I glanced away, yanking slightly on my my only article of property. "I said I'm not, okay? Now, let go."

But he didn't. Instead, he took a step closer. His eyes bored into mine, so near to my own that I could clearly see the specks of green in them. "You wouldn't, by chance, be reciprocating my feelings, would you, Love?"

Whatever breath I'd had seemed to diminish and I felt my heart twist in my chest. He was too close. Far, far too close.

"I....I can't think about that right now," I finally said, ignoring the airy way I spoke. "You have a family, Klaus. That's not something I can just plug my ears and hum at."

"I have responsibilities, Caroline," he amended, his breath wafting into my face. "I have responsibilities to Haley. To our daughter. But I also have a responsibility to follow my own heart."

"Oh yeah? Well what if that changes with her?" I argued, my voice still barely above a whisper. "You have a kid. It's not like....sharing a sports car. It's forever. Literally. And there's no room in there for someone else."

Klaus's hand reached for my face, his fingers tracing along my skin. His touch was like fire, sending electricity straight through me. "Nothing will change, Love. That I can promise you. This is not temporary infatuation, Caroline. It's not something that will just as easily disappear as it arrived."

I stared at his face, trying to read it again. But it was like deciphering a password. A thousand year old one. "Then maybe," I finally said, pulling out of his hand. "Someday. If you think you're so sure. But you have someone to raise and I have....myself to raise. Caroline Forbes has some serious growing up to do and I don't think getting involved with Klaus and Klaus Junior is going to help with that."

He didn't look amused as I retreated, watching his grip loosen on my bag. He looked away from me and though I couldn't see it, I felt his annoyance brewing just beneath the surface. "If that's what you want, I'll abide by it. But like I said, I'm also selfish, Love. And this time, I'll fight for you properly."

With that, Klaus jerked the bag forward, slamming me into him and before I had time to object, he crushed his lips to mine. His fingers wove into my hair as his other hand moved to cup my cheek. It fit perfectly in his palm, as if we were two puzzle pieces crafted to fit together.

I stood, frozen, just as his kiss intensified and my mind screamed at me to push him away. But then I found myself returning it, dropping my luggage and wrapping my arms around his neck.

He pulled back to look at me, breath ragged, and I saw his half-lidded eyes, lit with fire as he stared at my face from beneath his lashes. His lips turned up in a small smile and he lowered his head for our lips to meet once more.

In that instant, the doorbell rang and the moment shattered, shining like embers before crippling into ash.