Always Mine...

in this world, or the next.

Chapter 3

A/N: Please excuse all the mistakes and enjoy!

Caroline drained her glass of white wine after Klaus had excused himself to go the men's room. This was a mess. What was she supposed to do? How was she supposed to act? What in the world was she going to tell Hope?

"Seriously?" she complained to her empty wine glass, glaring at it like it was her enemy. The waiter came by with another glass of wine and tried to take her empty one, but she'd pulled it from his reach and raised her brows, daring him to take it from her.

What had this wine glass done to her to cause such a hostile display? That poor waiter had been so confused and apologetic, just because he'd caught her in a less then graceful moment. The only crime the wine glass committed was being spotless after she'd drank from it.

No lipstick staining its rim.

That's because her Number 69 - Ravish Me Red had been wiped clean from The Original Hybrid's mouth after their heated make-out session in the elevator.

Caroline exhaled a breath slowly and inhaled deeply, determined to control herself better. This was no time to let her libido take over and turn her into the sex-deprived vampire she tried to stuff down into the darkest parts of herself. It was probably time to find an inconspicuous lover.

What's the point? Klaus is back – lover found!

She ignored the traitorous thought and gave Klaus a pained smile as he returned. He wasted no time in starting the conversation. "I'm relieved that you believed me. Part of the reason I waited to approach you was because I feared you'd think me a trickster."

"And because of your 'moments less than others'." She instantly regretted sounding so insensitive to his plight. She remembered how miserable she'd been when she'd finally turned back on her emotions.

Klaus only nodded, looking at anything her but her. Great, her big mouth had shut him up.

"Sorry, Klaus." she murmured, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze. "Now... you told me why you turned it off, but why did you jump worlds? And how in the world did you manage it?"

"I'll save you the boring specifics, but human technology really is something to behold. I simply compelled a few choice humans and here I am."

"I'm not a scientist by any means, but there would have to be some consequences from your experiment, right?"

He shrugged. "Nothing I can't handle, sweetheart."

"You didn't answer my other question."

"Warring with humans wasn't as fun as I thought it would be."

Caroline arched her brow. "I'd say not. In this world, we're still a secret and I'd like it to stay that way."

"I didn't come here to start another war."

"Why did you come here then?"

He smirked. "Self-preservation."

When he didn't offer anything more, Caroline pursued her lips. The Klaus she had known was one-hundred-present invested in his own life –heck, in a thousand years his only daughter had caused him to take it willingly.

She saw no reason to disbelieve him. "Okay, then. You said your siblings had been murdered to kill the Hollow, but you only mentioned Hope once." Klaus' jaw visibly clenched as his smirk slid off his face. "What about your daughter?"

"I have no daughter." He ground out; hands fisted. "That bitch Hayley took care of her problem with the toxic herb wolfsbane."

There was no love lost between Caroline and the she-wolf, but Hayley's actions shocked her. In this is world, Hayley had been a wonderful mother. She had visited Hope constantly so Caroline had seen her often and while they never grew to be friends, they had respected each other.

"I'm so sorry, Klaus." She lamented again, deciding she needed to tell him that fate of his family in this reality, "Most of your family is alive here, except for Elijah. Hayley also died a few years ago."

"She's still alive in my reality." He muttered venomously, eyes flashing with anger. "Just like Katerina, always running." He took a deep breath. "But I confess you weren't my first stop in this new world. I went to see her."

Her?

"Hope."

Caroline's brows furrowed. Ric had just called to warn her that she was in danger –today. There was no way Klaus was in Mystic Falls a few hours ago. "When?"

"I appeared in Mystic Falls after I jumped worlds, I knew I would have to observe and see what state this reality was in. I was very surprised to find a boarding school had taken over the Salvatore home... and that you were the owner."

"I'd say you were."

"And then I saw a lovely young woman, with Hayley's features and my coloring, explaining that she was a tribid –werewolf, witch, and vampire- to a few children dressed in similar uniforms."

Despite the situation, Caroline found herself smiling. "She's powerful and smart –just like her father."

"I'm not her father."

"Technically, no. I've never been one for technicalities though, because technically I'm not my daughters' mother." Klaus nodded knowingly, so she assumed he knew about their crazy situation, "A very wise man I once knew told me it's not a crime to love what you cannot explain." She smiled, "He turned out to be a pretty good Dad, too."

Klaus opened his mouth to reply, but the waiter came back with their food, thus halting the conversation.

He sat their lunch specials down and looked pointedly at Caroline's empty wineglass. "Shall I take your empty wine glass now, ma'am?"

Caroline gave him an apologetic smile, and drained the filled wineglass, handing both empty glasses to the waiter. "Yes, you may. Please bring me another." The waiter nodded politely and left.

Klaus watched the exchange with an amused expression. "Are we celebrating or drowning ourselves in alcohol to avoid dealing with this mess?"

"Both." Caroline grimaced, and Klaus chuckled at her. "Plus, I like to be pretty sloshed anytime I fly." She saw Klaus' surprise and told him, "I bought us a flight to New Orleans, we're set to leave tonight."

"I'm not sure, love, that it's such a good idea..."

"Both your sisters live in Nola."

He nodded, picking up his own wine glass and taking a sip. "Back to the city where it all started." Klaus said as he smirked at Caroline.

She tried to school her face into a smile, but she could feel a frown tugging at the corner of her lips. New Orleans held no love for her anymore, since Klaus had perished there, but maybe this Klaus could bring its beauty back to life.

Caroline raised her glass to toast Klaus. "To a new beginning."

The smirk on Klaus' face grew positively wolfish as he clinked their glasses together. "A new beginning."

So, I struggled with this chapter very much. It was like slowly pulling out every single hair on my head. Hopefully next chapter will be better!

If anyone is interested in giving me some ideas, or help keep my motivation in check, please message me on here, tumblr, or AO3. I could really use the help. :

tiffywa~