AN: I do not own any of the characters or any familiar story elements.
Klaus stared at the cell phone as Stefan made his way out of the bar and onto the busy streets of New Orleans. Caroline Forbes, he hadn't heard that name in years but as soon as he saw the caller ID all those thoughts and feelings came rushing back to him as he picked up the phone.
"Hello love" Klaus said in his signature accent as he answered the phone.
"Who is this? Where's Stefan? I want to talk to Stefan" Caroline said impatiently into the phone, although even as she spoke she began to notice the familiar accent that hadn't graced her ears in quite some time.
"I'm hurt that you don't recognize my voice Caroline. You just missed Stefan I'm afraid. I hear congratulations are in order for you though. I have some clothes from when my daughter was a baby if you need anything." He responded with a smirk playfully gracing his lips as he spoke, imaging Caroline as a mother.
"Klaus. I didn't call you, I called Stefan and the babies aren't mine. They're Ric's." she said clearly starting to get frustrated by Klaus' attitude.
"Yes, that's been made abundantly clear to me by your boyfriend." He said, the sarcasm oozing out of his voice.
Caroline sighed into the phone and spoke again. "Yes, my boyfriend. Who is currently running for his life while I sit here playing worst case scenario. Except these babies, who aren't mine, won't stop crying, and now this entire diner hates me, so if you could stop gloating in the face of my misery, that would be very much appreciated." She sighed, exasperated as both Jodie and Lizzie continued to cry while she was talking on the phone.
"Stefan will be fine" He said, even though he wished he had Stefan's place in her heart.
"How do you know?" She asked, wondering exactly why Klaus would want to help Stefan. He was never one to be nice to the men she decided to date. He was never one to be nice, period.
"Because I will ensure it" he responded cooly and calmly. Even after all these years he still didn't want to be the cause of Caroline's unhappiness, even if that meant helping a Salvatore. After a rather long moment of awkward silence, he decided to speak again. "So, here you are in college, building a life for yourself. Plans. A future. Things you want."
Caroline chuckles lightly "Klaus, I'm not doing this with you." He smirks and continues "I take it children were not involved in those plans."
She smiles and laughs lightly "no they were not, luckily these aren't mine." She kept saying it, both to remind herself and to prevent him from some long winded speech about how she would be good at this and the importance of family bonding.
He ignored her statement and continued "so you've mentioned. You know my family challenges the bounds of my sanity, driving me to do unspeakable things, all the while finding fresh and inventive ways to torture me. But my family is what makes me truly happy. It is not a crime to love what you cannot explain." That statement really had two meanings to him as it applied to both his family and her. "I was sorry to hear about your mother, Caroline. I'm sure she would have loved to see you with the little ones."
She smiled slightly to herself. He had a point, her mother would have loved to be a grandmother. She shook the thought away as she noticed the baby in her arms had stopped crying. "oh my God. She's finally sleeping"
There was a momentary pause before he spoke again. "Well then we mustn't wake her. Goodbye Caroline." He hung up the phone before he could say anything too emotional to Caroline. He sighed and slipped the phone into his pocket as he exited the bar. He had a Salvatore to find and protect. He couldn't believe that one conversation had changed so much.