Caroline's POV-

We play for a little while before we swap to talking mentally, I don't want to wake Kol's who finally in a proper sleep, with his sensitive vampire hearing.

It's hours later and with my hand still clasped in Klaus's tightly that we pull up home, as soon as the car stops I can't help but sigh in relief it feels good to be back.

Do we carry them in I ask as we both get out to stretch our legs.

Kol woke up the minute we stopped driving his heartbeat started to speed up love.

"I'll get Bonnie." I say going over to her side.

"I've got her, I'll put her in the guest room." Kol yawns getting out of the car.

"Alright we'll see you in the morning them." I whisper back, catching his yawn.

He nods and the next second him and a still asleep Bonnie have flashed away, Rebekah and Elijah turn up moments later and look as fresh faced as when we started the journey. Even Kol seemed brimming with energy, and he'd only had a few hours sleep as a power nap.

"This needing to sleep thing is going to be annoying when you don't need to as much." I say as we make our way up to the house.

"You'll learn Care, it takes time to build up endurance in older vampires, or so I've heard." Rebekah gives me a pitying smile.

"Did it not work like that with you, did you not have to learn?" I ask curious as we make our way inside and Beckah puts the kettle on.

"We were taught from the moment we first turned to embrace our power, the same way a witch would embrace their magic, when we were young vampires we had no choice but to survive on little sleep while traveling long distances to escape from Father." Elijah replies leaning against the counter.

"So you grew with your power, what about the older vampires you've turned?" I question yawning again.

"They like you had to be taught to actively combine their power, although they had a lot less power to control. You'll pick it up quickly enough, you can already access your wolf with minimal pain and that takes hybrid power love.." Klaus murmurs pulling me against his chest so I can nuzzle at will.

"Of course Niklaus is right, you are a different species entirely we have
no idea the extent of your power compared to ours." Elijah gives a sigh of pure happiness as he takes a sip of perfectly brewed coffee.

"Would you like some?" He gestures to the pot.

"We're going to bed brother, we'll talk further in the morning." Klaus replies for me, leading me out of the room.

I whisper shout my goodnights as we make our way up to our room, stripping and throwing an oversized shirt on before climbing into the cold sheets, wrapping them around me as tightly as I can.

"Are you coming to bed Nik?" I ask shivering a little.

"Of course sweetheart." He says stripping to his boxers before disappearing into the closet.

He comes back bearing a thick soft blanket, draping it over me and the bed before turning off the light and climbing in. I sigh in pleasure as his warm body meets my cold one, wrapping around him like a cobra his warm chuckle is the lullaby to which I fall asleep.

I wake up a few hours later and Klaus is standing in front of the fire painting a canvas lost in thought, he catches me sitting up and gives me a worried smile.

"It's the middle of the night love what's wrong?" He asks putting down his brush and flashing over to the bed.

"I don't know I was looking for something and I couldn't find it... I was desperate and then I woke up." I yawn tiredly.

"I'm here love." He says climbing in next to me and clicking off the side lights.

The fire illuminates the room as I cuddle back into him.

"You don't have to stay if you're not going to sleep honey." I sigh softly sniffing him in pleasure.

"I love resting with you sweetheart, I woke up and thought I'd paint for a while, but I've hit a bit of a wall anyway." He smiles that genuine smile that he only ever gives me in private, and illuminated by the firelight he's another level of beautiful.

I can't help but strain up for a taste of his gorgeous lips, he kisses me back still grinning and before I know it I have the perfect idea of how to tire myself out for more sleep; I arch into him even further straddling him so that I can feel every inch of him underneath me.

I lather him in sweet kisses everywhere I can reach, getting another one of those unbelievably soft smiles when I kiss his nose and his eyes. He lets me explore the expanse of his chest, the valleys of his muscles; I make sure to worship every inch of him I can possibly reach right down to the tips of his fingers where I kiss the pads reverently before letting him reclaim his hand.

He strokes my hair softly playing with the individual strands, his eyes fixed on me with total adoration as I take my time to shower him in open affection. It's on my second round that I start leaving little bites in my wake, licking up the teaspoon of blood that escapes him before his body heals them, he groans with every bite whispering mentally how good it feels as the firelight dances over his skin.

The combination of his sublime blood and the intense study of his body means that when I finally take his lips my control is shattered, we share a deep slow kiss brimming with intensity and passion. I wiggle against him desperate before leaning back to yank my t-shirt off, he manages to rid himself of his boxers by the time I throw it off the bed, and I grip his shoulders tightly as I sink onto him.

It's slow and tender between us as Klaus lathers my collarbone in wet kisses and i pull my hair off my sweat soaked face and into the air, minutes or hours go by as we love each other in the most intimate and primal way possible; when we finally reach our end it's with low throaty growls that seem to be ripped from our souls and thrown at one another.

The sheets and blankets are tangled around us messily as we lay sweaty and satisfied in a heap in the middle of the bed, Klaus's hand brushes gentle strokes up and down my back as I pet his chest lazily.

"It's good to be home Nik." I sigh softly leaning back to smile at him.

"It's only home because you're here." He smiles back.

"Our home, we can fill it with treasures and family and love." I cup his cheek softly, watching as his eyes get dark and his heart-breaking hope that that's true filters through the bond.

"Where on earth did you come from?"He whispers in awe.

"I'm sorry I took so long..." I whisper back grinning as I brush his lips softly.

"You were well worth the wait." He whispers back, adopting my grin as he rolls on top of me and goes on to use the next few hours to show me just how worth the wait i was.

I wake the next morning feeling deliciously satisfied and refreshed, Klaus is once again painting but this time he's actually touching the brush to paper confidently critically eyeing each stroke as he dabbles in different colours.

I creep up behind him wrapping my arms around his waist so I can kiss his bare back snugly.

Good morning honey I think softly.

"Good morning sweetheart." He sighs satisfied as I eye his painting over a beautifully tanned shoulder.

"Why the ocean?" I can't help but ask as I pad over to the dresser for some socks.

"I've always loved the ocean, it's powerful enough to drown any intruders, but soft enough sometimes just looking at it will centre you." he says simply.

"I love how it has a thousand different moods, I just love the water, I've never even seen it and I love it already." I sigh in wonder as Klaus adds another shade of blue to the oasis.

"We will go love, whenever you're ready." He smiles turning back to his work.

"I'm moving in properly today Nik, I don't want to wait till tomorrow." I declare as I put on some sweats.

"Then you move in today, shall we go and get your things." He stops painting to give me a transcendent grin.

"Keep painting my artistic mate, I'll source us food and coffee and we can go later, I want to ask Elijah and the others if they're free." I blow him a kiss as I leave.

Anything in particular that you fancy to eat I ask as I bound down the stairs.

My favourite fancy are good French pastries with coffee strong enough to remove paint, however as France is a long way away I'm sure whatever you're making will be resplendent he thinks amused as I finally reach the kitchen.

Erm I can make blueberry pancakes I think back.

Perfect love.

"Good morning." I grin as I see Elijah and Rebekah sitting at the kitchen table.

"Morning did you rest well?" Elijah asks politely as he sips his coffee reading the paper.

"I did it's good to be home, do you guys want some pancakes I'm making?" I offer as I go to the fridge for ingredients.

"I'm starving, we never stopped for dinner last night." Rebekah groans as she drinks her tea frowning at her phone in contempt.

"Blueberry work for you?" I ask as I start mixing the biggest bowl of batter I can find.

"Yummy!" she grins back.

"Elijah?" I motion to the bowl.

"If it isn't to much trouble I'd love some Caroline, where is Niklaus?" He asks distractedly as he opens an email.

"He's in a world of paint, what about Kol?" I ask as I get the pan on, the butter melting against the hot skillet.

"He was escorting Bonnie home, she wanted to wait for you but her father called rather irately and demanded to know where she'd been." Beckah raises and eyebrow as if to say it did not sound good.

"I'll call her later I might have to have a word with Rudy myself." I frown at how much grief her dad is giving her over her magic.

It's at that moment the front door slams open with a bang, we all flash to the foyer where a furious Kol and Bonnie stand glaring at each other.

"I told you I had it handled Kol." She grates out her magic spitting off her as her fury mounts.

"He had no right to talk to you like that, you can't just expect me to stand there and let him verbally abuse you!!" He shouts back uncaring of the sparks of energy that are hitting him.

"Bonnie, you need to calm down." I say slightly panicked for Kol's safety.

"He threatened my dad Care, who then said that until I was ready to renounce magic and the current company I'm keeping I'd better find a different home address." She wails as Kol's fury becomes smug.

"you are most welcome to stay with us Miss Bennet, we have the room and no prejudice against witches." Elijah offers with a smile.

"As much as I appreciate the offer, I can't stay here Elijah." She groans fury evaporating as tears fill her eyes.

"Of course you're staying here." I agree moving to hug her.

Kol beats me there gathering her in his arms even more tenderly than I ever thought possible, she cries into his shoulder and I can almost feel her heart breaking at how awful her dad is being.

"We're going to go and get some pancakes, come on Bon we can figure this out." I say softly as we retreat into the kitchen.

I pour a pancake adding my blueberries and flipping, I've just finished my first stack when a tear stained Bonnie and a furious Kol enter, Kol keeps a hand on her back as she sits down shifting his chair closer to her in solidarity.

"First stack is yours Bonnie." I grin placing it down in front of her with lashings of syrup covering it.

She takes a tentative bite unable to resist, and groans in delight as she cuts herself some more.

"I forgot if there are two things you can cook, it's pancakes and omelettes. You burn water for pasta but you do awesome pancakes." She groans around another bite.

"I did that one time!!!" I shout back as I hear Klaus snickering in my mind, he'd made contact when he'd heard Kol was furious.

"Twice you forgot the time we tried to make churro's." She laughs as she digs in.

I mumble something nonsensical back as the others laugh and I finish Rebekah's stack.

"Blood or syrup?"I ask as I pop the last one on the plate.

"Ohh Blood sounds wonderful!" She grins as I pour a blood bag over it and hand it to her with relish.

Bonnie doesn't even blink an eye and I quickly replicate the process for Elijah, I'm just getting another bag out for Kol when he stops me.

"Syrup for me darling." He winks and everyone freezes.

I put the bag back hesitantly as Bonnie seems to realise what's going on, she stands up giving her last pancake a sad little sigh and Kol a glare for making her leave it. He frowns back confused as she goes to the fridge and takes the blood bag back out, she cuts the top neatly and drenches the pancakes I'm still holding. Then with a wink for me and an exasperated sigh for Kol, she takes them placing them in front of him before digging back into hers.

Kol gives a satisfied little grin even as a partial blush covers his delicate cheekbones, I bite my lip to contain my laughter and I see Rebekah doing the same I quickly turn back to my pancakes so she doesn't set me off and I just think I have it under control when Elijah enters the game.

"Really Kol syrup?" He laughs setting us all off.

"Alright hilarious!" He shushes half-heartedly as Bonnie giggles.

"Nik says to ask you if you'd like him to arrange a hunting trip with Stefan for you, apparently bears are in season." I manage to get out between my giggles.

"He's not even in the room and he's mocking me, how is that fair?!" Kol moans disgusted just as Klaus wanders in.

He kisses me briefly before grabbing a cup of coffee, he sweetens a fresh cup for me perfectly before turning back to abuse Kol some more. They banter good naturedly as I finish our pancakes, grabbing the other stack I'd stored in the oven I put both on the counter.

"Blood or syrup?" I ask as I flip my last pancake.

"Blood of course sweetheart, not all of us are Kol." He grins taking a final swipe as Kol grumbles and shovels a huge bite of pancake into his mouth mulishly.

I grin cutting my wrist neatly and holding it over his pancakes, his eyes darken in want as the wound heals and he kisses the dried blood off my skin softly.

"Thank you sweetheart." He takes the plate from me feeding himself a mouthful and groaning in pleasure.

"Okay so is that just me or was that weird??" Bonnie asks as we take a seat.

"That was odd even for vampires."Rebekah comments casually as she carries on eating.

"Imagine you could have name brand syrup, or you could have the most expensive decedent syrup money could buy one with different flavours and tastes every time you tried it. Which would you chose to eat?" Klaus surprises me by replying.

"That's kind of sweet, in a weird vampire way.." She muses thoughtfully.

"Is that a benefit of mating Niklaus?" Elijah asks curiously.

"Indeed, it's like nothing I've ever experienced." He replies honestly shocking me again.

"Interesting." Both Kol and Elijah reply at the same time, making me and Rebekah both nearly fall out of our seats in shock.

"So...I've decided to move in a day early who's about today to help me move boxes?" I grin chirpily breaking the awkward tension.

"What time are you wanting assistance?" Elijah asks grabbing his phone.

"Erm maybe this afternoon, but if you're busy we can just load up a car no big deal." I say with a smile.

"I have a business meeting in New York but I'll be home this evening to welcome you properly I promise, thank you for the delicious pancakes."He says softly as he rises putting his plate in the dishwasher before vanishing.

"I would but I have school all day, some people have to worry about that miss technically I've already graduated." Bonnie sticks out her tongue petulantly.

"Technically I should still be going, but It is a relief that I'm finished." I grin back.

"Do you want me to pick up some things from your house while your dad is at work?" I ask softly.

"Oh what a mess, if you wouldn't mind, I'll book a room in the Mystic on my way to school." She groans naming the only hotel in mystic falls.

"Bonnie please stay here, really no one will mind, there is no point wasting money on a hotel." I say gently.

"Pet it's alright, it doesn't change anything and we'll all feel better knowing you're safe." Kol whispers brushing her cheek.

"I insist Bonnie, Caroline will be uneasy if you stay at a hotel." Klaus interrupts much to Bonnie's shock.

"Only for a few days, I'll start looking at apartments or I'll talk to my dad." She mumbles the last to herself.

"There's no rush, it's always nice to have another girl in the house." Rebekah smiles as we all finish breakfast.

"Can I get a ride to my car Care?" Bonnie asks as she puts her dirty plate in the washer.

"I'll take you I'm going to school anyway." Rebekah says following her.

"I'll see you later care, I'll make you spicy rice as a thank you." she grins as they make their way to the door.

I whoop in delight as her and Rebekah leave, hearing her warm laughter as she shuts the door.

"I'm guessing spicy rice is her speciality?" Kol asks amused.

"It's another level of good, if you like spicy food." I muse as they both help me clean up.

"Kol loves spicy food." Klaus gives an unashamed grin at Kol's scowl.

"Are you going to help us box up today?" I ask Kol as we finish off.

"Unfortunately I already arranged to pick up Nik's birthday present today, it's only a week away after all." He taunts as Klaus rolls his eyes.

"Just me and you then Nik." I grin as I take the last bite of my superb pancake.